JUNG, Joachim.

Opuscula Botanico-Physica ex Recensione et distinctione Martini Fogelii... et Joh. Vagetii...cum eorundem Annotationibus accedit Josephi de Aromatariis...ad Bartholomeum Nanti Epistola de Generatione Plantarum ex Seminibus...

Three woodcuts on one page. 12 p.l., 183, [1] pp. 4to, cont. vellum over boards, red leather label on spine (a little chipped, minor foxing). Coburg: G. Otto, 1747. First collected edition of Jung’s revolutionary lectures on botany including Giuseppe degli Aromatari’s letter on the germination of plants from seeds. The stagnation of descriptive botany in the 17th century “was ended by extremely important new theoretical developments, particularly in plant morphology, which stemmed from the work of Joachim Jung (Jungius), and which were certainly the reflection, in systematics, of the rising experimental philosophy... “Jung was a man of great versatility and powerful intellect, ranking beside Galileo, Bacon and Descartes, his contemporaries...He was led by philosophy and observation to a systematic analysis of plant form which had a lasting impact on descriptive botany.”–Morton, History of Botanical Science, pp. 167-68–(and see pp. 167-75 for a detailed account). “Jung [1587-1657], for fear of heresy, published nothing in his lifetime and nearly a century passed before his notes were printed. These show an almost modern grasp of plant identification and classification. He gave botany much of its present nomenclature and provided the clear divisions of botanical interest into plant morphology (structure), physiology, and ecology (relationships). He classified plants by a binomial system, the first being a generic term, the second a descriptive adjective. The great rarity of his writings has hindered the wider adoption of his contributions.”–Dibner, Heralds of Science, 23. Jung’s works were based upon transcripts of lectures, edited shortly after his death by his students Martin Fogel and Johann Vaget. Fine copy. Bookplate of Robert James Shuttleworth ((1810-74), the English-Swiss botanist and conchologist (see D.N.B., XVIII, pp. 176-77). His collection of shells is now at the State Museum of Bern and his herbarium was donated to the British Museum. ❧ D.S.B., VII, pp. 193-96. Evans, First Editions of Epochal Achievements in the History of Science (1934), 82. Ernst Weil, Cat. 12, item 137.

• USD 5,500.00 > otras divisas
• nº de pedido: HillBibl-1681

• librero: Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller, Inc. (USA)