Our latest photo books article looks at J. C. Volkamer’s 18th-century ode to the citrus fruit.
Have 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 extravagant and breathtaking series of large-sized copperplates representing citrons, lemons and bitter oranges in surreal scenes of majesty and wonder.
Ordering plants by post mostly from Italy, Germany, North Africa and even the Cape of Good Hope, the Nuremberg merchant Volkamer was a devotee of the fragrant and exotic citrus at a time when such fruits were still largely unknown north of the Alps. 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 256 plates of 170 varieties of citrus fruits, many depicted life size, published in a two-volume work.
In both volumes, Volkamer draws on years of hands-on experience to present a far-reaching account of citrus fruits and how to tend them, from a meticulous walk-through of how to construct temporary orangeries, glasshouses and hothouses for growing pineapples to commentary on each fruit variety, including its size, shape, colour, scent, tree or shrub, leaves and country of origin.
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, each locale is depicted in the same exceptional detail as the fruit that overhangs it. We witness branches heavy with grape fruits 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 a highly poetic tour through the lush gardens and places where these fruits grew.
Few coloured sets of Volkamer’s work are still in existence today. This publication draws on the two recently discovered hand-coloured volumes in the city of Fürth’s municipal archive in Schloss Burgfarrnbach. The reprint also includes 56 newly discovered illustrations that Volkamer intended to present in a third volume.
Famous First Edition: First printing of 5,000 numbered copies: €125
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