1586 Mattioli German Ed. "Herbal" Book
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GUEST:
It is a book from my father's family. It has been in the family, I believe, since his grandfather. We believe it's dated 1586...
APPRAISER:
Well, it certainly is. It's right here on the cover.
GUEST:
And his grandfather was a pharmacist...
APPRAISER:
And it was brought with a group of books from Europe?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
When was that?
GUEST:
We brought them over only about two or three years ago...
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
But they have been in the family for a very long time.
APPRAISER:
It's notable, particularly because of its binding with the date of publication squarely stamped on the blind-tooled pigskin cover, which is over... (knocks): Solid wooden boards. Unfortunately, the front board has split. And the book is a very popular text. It's by Mattioli, who was born in Siena in 1501 and died in 1577.
GUEST:
Oh. Okay.
APPRAISER:
And he was an herbalist. His text was widely published, first of all, in Italy. This is a German edition edited by a Nuremberg physician called Joachim Camerarius. You see here, Nuremberg medicine, published in Frankfurt am Main...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
In 1586. And the beauty of this book is that it's among the earliest series of botanical illustrations using a woodcut technique...
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
But making the illustrations from life specimens.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
From the plants themselves. All of these, as it's called, a Kreuterbuch...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Were for herbalist purposes. Remedies, nutrition, that sort of thing.
GUEST:
Is it done on the Gutenberg press?
APPRAISER:
This is nearly 150 years post-Gutenberg.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
This is a perfectly respectable printing outfit in Frankfurt. Back here, we'll see the printer's mark.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
It's Frankfurt am Main, and it's printed by Sigmund Feyerabend.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And there's the printer's device.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And there's the date of the printing. And it's seen some wear. It's got some wormholes, it lacks its tabs and clasps. But it's the most beautiful, nice, original old object. Value-wise, Mattioli's works have been bringing quite a lot of money recently. And I would value this at $25,000 for insurance purposes.
GUEST:
(gasps): Wow. Wow-- that's great. (laughs)
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