John Sibthorp Livres

PRINTING ERROR // Flora Graeca, was published in 10 volumes between 1806 and 1840, and was the product of a survey in the late C18, by John Sibthorp who collected and described the flora. He was accompanied by Ferdinand Bauer who prepared and illustrated the specimens. The engravings for the printing were made by Sowerby and the work as a whole is considered one of the finest examples of botanical illustration. This new edition is, according to the current editors, a ‘pseudo -facsimile’ version. The original Flora Graeca is in folio format. The plates have been reduced to fit a print area of 16 x 24 cm. Small plants sometimes occupy only a portion of the centre of an otherwise blank page in the original, with the calligraphed name at the far bottom. In such cases the size has been modified so that the drawing fills a reasonable part of the page and the name has sometimes been moved closer.

Flora Graeca Sibthorpiana: sive plantarum rariorum historia, quas in provinciis aut insulis Graeciae legit, investigavit et depingi curavit Johannes Sibthorp. hic illam etiam insertae sunt pauculae species quas vir idem clarissimus, Graeciam versus navigam, in itinere, praesertim apud Italiam et Siciliam, invenerit. Characteres omnium, descriptiones et synonyma, elaboravit Jacobus Edvardus Smith. Volumes 9 - 10 (Centuria Nona et Decima). 1837 - 1840. Annotated re - issue 2013.

Each of the 200 species in this volume is presented on a 2 page spread sheet with the color plate to the right in thejupper half of the facing left-hand page is text in English with comments on the current name and taxonomic status, ecology, distribution, etc. as well as a brief description. In addition to this there is a dot map generated from the more than 700,000 records in the Flora Hellenica Database. Species of particular interest include, e.g.; Hyoscyamus aureus, Rhamnus sibthorpianus, Pancratium maritimum, Sternbergia colchiciflora, Fritillaria sibthorpiana, Bruckenthalia spiculifolia and Saxifraga sempervivum.

The book is a facsimile reprint of a scarce antiquarian work, preserving its historical significance despite potential imperfections like marks and notations due to its age. The publisher emphasizes its cultural importance and commitment to making classic literature accessible through high-quality modern editions that remain true to the original text.

Die Neuausgabe der Flora Graeca, die von 1808-40 in 10 Bänden erschien, zeigt zum ersten Mal 250 Originalzeichnungen von Ferdinand Bauer. Bisher waren sie wegen des exrem hohern Preises der in nur 60 Exemplaren erschienenen Originalausgabe nur wenigen Fachleuten zugänglich.