Rare antique botanical book by Bonelli G.
Hortus Romanus ... Rome, 1772-1775. 3 vol.
Item Number: 13721 Authenticity Guarantee
Hunt (Botanical Books), 629; Nissen (BBI), 200; Pritzel, 976, Brunet I, p.1096; Graesse I, p.486
Not much is known of Giorgio Bonelli, beyond the facts that he was a physician and botanist who derived from the sub-Alpine region, lived at Rome during the third quarter of the eighteenth century, and taught medicine there.
Hortus Romanus was brought out in eight volumes (1772-93). Actually, Bonelli seems to have been responsible for vol.I only. Then Niccolo Martelli, physician and professor of botany, took over. The flowers and vegetables in the plates were painted by Cesare Ubertini and engraved by Maddalena Bouchard, although one doubts that all eight hundred plates, over a period of twenty-one years, were prepared by the two alone.
This publication is extremely rare, especially complete copies. Nissen saw the original prospectus: only 300 copies were to be printed, of which only some were to be coloured. It is widely believed that less than that was actually published. The Hunt copy lacks vol. VII and VIII, the Brit.Museum copy lacks vol. VIII.