Johann Wilhelm Weinmann (1683-1741), German botanist and apothecary, from his florilegium “PhIytanthoza conographia“, (1737-1745).  Hand-colored copper engravings – a mezzotint printed in color and then hand-finished. Over 4,000 plants and flowers are depicted on 1,025 plates, making this series one of the finest and most comprehensive color plate florilegia ever produced.

Weinmann was an influential and well-connected apothecary, pharmacist, and botanist in Regensburg, Germany.  These botanical studies are both scientifically and decoratively beautiful. Weinmann employed the mezzotint process of printmaking to achieve the subtle tonal variations of leaves and flower petals.

In “Great Flower Books”, Satcheverall Sitwell refers to this set as the “pioneering work of botanical prints engraved to be inked in color.”

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