"Hepatica trifolia"

Crispin de Passe, a contemporary of Basil Besler, took a mostly different approach from Besler when he created his celebrated early florilegia, Hortus Floridus. Like Besler, De Passe arranged his book according to the seasons, but in contrast to the oversize format used by his colleague, De Passe"s chose to publish a small format book. He created charming intimately scaled engravings of lovely common garden flowers such as tulips, narcissi, hyacinths fritillarias, primroses and irises which he depicted growing out of the ground. De Passe"s famous work had a lasting influence on botanical illustration and on 17th century gardening. 

7 3/4 x 12 inches sheet. 
Copperplate engraving with modern hand-color, Latin text on verso. 
Clean and crisp impression in excellent condition.