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:
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 a 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. 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. Is it done on the Gutenberg press? 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. 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. Mattioli's works have been bringing quite a lot of money recently. I would value this at $25,000 for insurance purposes.
GUEST:
(gasps): Wow. Wow! That's great. (laughs)
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