LINNAEUS, Carl. Hortus Upsaliensis exhibens plantas exoticas horto Upsaliensis Academiae a sese illatas, ab anno 1742, in annum 1748, additis differentiis, synonymis, habitationibus hospitiis, rariorumque desciptionibus. In gratiam studiosae juventutis.

Pirated Plants

LINNAEUS, Carl. Hortus Upsaliensis exhibens plantas exoticas horto Upsaliensis Academiae a sese illatas, ab anno 1742, in annum 1748, additis differentiis, synonymis, habitationibus hospitiis, rariorumque desciptionibus. In gratiam studiosae juventutis. Amstelaedami: Apud J. Wetstenium. 1748.

4to. Late nineteenth-century roan with dark pebble-grained cloth sides, spine lettered directly in gilt; pp. [x], 306, [40]; with 3 folding copper-engraved plates; a little rubbed and worn at extremities; lightly spotted, with short tear to inner margin of title, affecting two letters, small closed tear to margin of 3 plates, not touching illustration, first few pp. partially detached; else very good; ink library-stamps and bookplate of Chetham’s Library Manchester.

Uncommon pirated edition of Linnaeus’s catalogue of exotic plants cultivated in the Botanic Garden of Uppsala University, Sweden, between 1742 and 1748, published in the same year as the first Stockholm edition.

4to. Late nineteenth-century half roan with dark blue pebble-grained cloth sides, spine lettered directly in gilt; pp. [10], 306, [40]; with 3 folding copper-engraved plates; spine somewhat sunned and gilt muted, a little worn at extremities; lightly spotted, with short closed tear to inner margin of title (affecting two letters), small closed tear to margin of three plates, not touching illustration, first few pp. partially detached; else very good; shelfmark stamps in ink and bookplate of Chetham’s Library Manchester to front pastedown.

Pirated edition of Linnaeus’s catalogue of exotic plants cultivated in the Botanic Garden of Uppsala University, Sweden, between 1742 and 1748, scarce in commerce and published in the same year as the first Stockholm edition.

Compiled during Linnaeus’s tenure as Professor of Medicine and Botany, the work documents the remarkable development of the Uppsala Botanic Garden in the years following his appointment. The garden had fallen into decline after the fire of 1702 and, when Linnaeus assumed responsibility for it in 1741, contained relatively few exotic species. Through an extensive network of pupils, correspondents, and fellow botanists across Europe and beyond, he rapidly enriched its collections, transforming it into one of Europe’s leading centres for the cultivation and study of foreign plants. The present catalogue records 110 exotic species introduced under Linnaeus’s direction between 1742 and 1748, including a significant number of Siberian plants, and was prepared for the use of the University’s students.

Hortus Upsaliensis combines practical horticulture with systematic observation, and is supplemented by a series of useful indices. These include, inter alia, an index of plants employed in Sweden for food, the Horticultura Topographica, locating species according to their arrangement within the garden, and an index classifying plants according to the climates in which they naturally occur, reflecting Linnaeus’s interest in the geographical distribution of plants and their cultivation under different conditions. The preface details observations on the climate at Uppsala, recording a maximum temperature of 30° on Celsius’s scale on 2 July 1747 and a minimum of –28° on 25 January 1740, together with phenological observations showing that, over seven years, the oak came into leaf no earlier than 6 May and no later than 22 May. The work offers a revealing account of the practical organisation of the Uppsala Botanic Garden and of Linnaeus’s botanical methods during a formative period in its history.

The work is illustrated with three folding engraved plates by Bergquist, reproducing those of the Stockholm edition and depicting Mimulus, Celsia, and Tussilago. These accompany expanded descriptions of the species, including Mimulus, which Linnaeus records as a perennial cultivated outdoors at Uppsala from material originating in Virginia.

Soulsby describes the present issue as the ‘pirated edition’, whereas Stafleu and Cowan regard it as ‘a special issue of the Stockholm original with a substitute title’. Although the Stockholm edition bears the designation ‘Vol. I’, no continuation of the work was ever issued.

Uncommon on the market: we trace only four copies at auction since 1977.

STCN 260337226; Hunt 533; Soulsby 425; Stafleu & Cowan 4746.

SKU: 2124906