Cornucopia of Fruit & Vegetables, A: Illustrations from an eighteenth-century botanical treasury

The eighteenth century saw a fascination with fruit and vegetables as detailed art, with wealthy households creating orangeries and glasshouses for tender exotics and tomatoes, sweetcorn, and runner beans from the New World expanding the culinary repertoire. A Cornucopia of Fruit & Vegetables is a glimpse into this world, featuring exquisite illustrations of edible plants in his historic treasury.

Format: Hardback
Length: 152 pages
Publication date: 28 May 2021
Publisher: Bodleian Library

Britain and the rest of Europe have long enjoyed a wide and wonderful array of fruit and vegetables, thanks to intrepid explorers and plant-hunters. Wealthy households created orangeries and glasshouses for tender exotics and special pits to raise pineapples, while tomatoes, sweetcorn, and runner beans from the New World expanded the culinary repertoire. This wealth of choice attracted interest beyond the kitchen and garden. In the 1730s, a prosperous Bavarian apothecary produced the first volume of a comprehensive A to Z of all available plants, meticulously documented and lavishly illustrated by botanical artists.

A Cornucopia of Fruit & Vegetables is a glimpse into his world. It features exquisite illustrations of the edible plants in his historic treasury, allowing us to enjoy the sight of swan-necked gourds and horned lemons, smile at silkworms hovering over mulberries, and delight at the quirkiness of ‘strawberry spinach … a delicious medley of garden produce and exotics that will capture the imagination of gardeners and art-lovers alike.

Weight: 496g
Dimension: 157 x 198 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781851245666