A rare print with an endearing backstory. This is not only a gorgeous piece, but also a collector’s item (which sells for roughly $200+ through various retailers).

Full details available through museum Winterthur.

Title

a. Serpentaria Mirabilis Montana, Sidereon, Schlon. [...]

Creator (Role)

Johann Jakob Haid (Engraver)

Georg Dionysis Ehret (Draftsman)

Johann Wilhelm Weinmann (Author)

Creator Notes

Johann Jakob Haid was the engraver of the Ehret plates in Jakob Christoph Trew, Plantae selectae (Nuremberg: 1750-73). He was also one of the publishers of Johann Wilhelm Weinmann, Phytanthoza iconographia (Nuremberg: 1735-45), and engraved 273 of its plates.Christoph Jacob Trew, a physician and botanist, was Ehret's primary patron publishing both Plantae Selectae, one of the finest ever 18th-century botanical sets in which these prints were issued. Trew had for a number of years been an admirer of Ehret's work. While Ehret was working as an artist for a banker in Regensburg, Germany, he met Trew, and the two remained friends and associates for life. Ehret developed his gardening skills in Heidelberg in his youth, practicing drawing in his spare time. He moved to London in the late 1730s, establishing himself as a teacher of flower painting and botany. He painted the recently introduced exotic plants at the Chelsea Physic Garden. By 1742, Trew wrote to a friend that he already had acquired over 100 botanical studies of exotic plants by Ehret. After considerable discussion, in 1748, Johann Jacob Haid from Augsburg and his son Johann Elias Haid (1739-1809) agreed to produce the engravings from Ehret's drawings.

Place of Origin

Regensburg, Germany, Europe

Date

1737-1745

Subjects

Botanical illustration; Still life; Book illustration

Materials

Ink; Watercolor; Paper (laid)

Techniques

Engraving, Etched, Line Engraving, Mezzotint

Dimensions (inches)

15.7 (H) , 10.2 (W) , 13.1 (Image H) , 8.2 (Image W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

39.8 (H) , 26 (W) , 13.1 (Image H) , 8.2 (Image W)

Measurement Notes

Plate H: 13.2 in. (33.6 cm). Plate W: 8.5 in. (21.5 cm).

Please note: There is a bit of water damage to the lower corner of the matboard (which you would likely want to replace before framing anyway) a well as a small hidden puncture mark which is the reason for the generous discount. Final Sale.