The Greatest Flower Book in the World

Horticulturist and TV presenter Alys Fowler discusses a newly discovered copy of of this early 17th-century book documenting one of history’s finest gardens
Set to feature in Christie’s Books & Manuscripts sale, the 1613 publication was commissioned by the Prince Bishop of Eichstätt - credited with creating one of the earliest botanical gardens dedicated to flowering plants. The Prince Bishop’s castle was surrounded by eight separate gardens, each with their own staff, with plants from the Americas and the Ottoman Empire imported through Amsterdam, Antwerp and Brussels. ‘He was obsessed with gardens, and wanted to show the wealth of his plant collection,’ says Fowler.
The task of recording Eichstätt’s collection was given to Basilius Besler, a Nuremberg-based apothecary, who, Fowler explains, ‘did such a good job that the book is often known as The Besler, or Besler Botanical.’ The finished work depicts the flowers of more than 1,000 types of plant, shown life-size across four seasons.
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