{"product_id":"j-c-volkamer-the-book-of-citrus-fruits-9783836535250","title":"J. C. Volkamer. the Book of Citrus Fruits","description":"\u003cp\u003eHave you ever thought of citrus fruits as celestial bodies, angelically suspended in the sky? Perhaps not, but J. C. Volkamer (1644-1720) did--commissioning an \u003cstrong\u003eextravagant and breathtaking series of large-sized copperplates\u003c\/strong\u003e representing citrons, lemons, and bitter oranges in surreal scenes of majesty and wonder.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Ordering plants by post mostly from Italy, Germany, North Africa, and even the Cape of Good Hope, the Nuremberg merchant Volkamer was a \u003cstrong\u003edevotee of the fragrant and exotic citrus at a time when such fruits were still largely unknown north of the Alps\u003c\/strong\u003e. His garden came to contain a wide variety of specimens, and he became so obsessed with the fruits that he commissioned a team of copperplate engravers to create \u003cstrong\u003e256 plates of 170 varieties of citrus fruits, many depicted life size\u003c\/strong\u003e, published in a\u003cstrong\u003e two-volume work\u003c\/strong\u003e. The first volume appeared in 1708, with the impressively lengthy title \u003cem\u003eThe Nuremberg Hesperides, or: A detailed description of the noble fruits of the citron, lemon and bitter orange; how these may be correctly planted, cared for and propagated in that and neighboring regions\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In both volumes, Volkamer draws on years of hands-on experience to present \u003cstrong\u003ea far-reaching account of citrus fruits and how to tend them\u003c\/strong\u003e--from a meticulous walk-through of how to construct temporary orangeries, glasshouses, and hothouses for growing pineapples to \u003cstrong\u003ecommentary on each fruit variety\u003c\/strong\u003e, including its size, shape, color, scent, tree or shrub, leaves, and country of origin.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In each plate, Volkamer pays tribute to the verdant landscapes of Northern Italy, his native Nuremberg, and other sites that captured his imagination. From Genovese sea views to the Schönbrunn Palace, \u003cstrong\u003e each locale is depicted in the same exceptional\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003edetail as the fruit that overhangs it\u003c\/strong\u003e. We witness branches heavy with grapefruits arching across a sun-bathed yard in Bologna and marvel at a huge pineapple plant sprouting from a South American town. The result is at once a fantastical line-up of botanical beauty and \u003cstrong\u003ea highly poetic tour through the lush gardens and places where these fruits grew\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eFew colored sets of Volkamer's work are still in existence today.\u003c\/strong\u003e This publication draws on the two \u003cstrong\u003erecently discovered hand-colored volumes\u003c\/strong\u003e in the city of Fürth's municipal archive in Schloss Burgfarrnbach. The reprint also includes \u003cstrong\u003e56 newly discovered illustrations \u003c\/strong\u003ethat Volkamer intended to present in a third volume.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe author: \u003cbr\u003eIris Lauterbach studied art history and Romance philology and gained her doctorate in 1985. Since 1991 she is at the Research Department of the Zentralinstitut fur Kunstgeschichte in Munich and teaches history of garden architecture at the Technical University Munich. Her primary fields of research include the French 18th century and the history of European garden art from the 16th to the early 19th century.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Taschen","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50438440550674,"sku":"9783836535250","price":219.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_5d78ad83-407a-4d7c-85db-8905eedb2579.jpg?v=1729651003","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/j-c-volkamer-the-book-of-citrus-fruits-9783836535250","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}