2011 Charles Wysocki Special Edition WL Calendar Book

Excellent...informative, clear and incredible illustrations. A must for anyone interested in art or botany. Of course, I happen to be an admirer of Ferdinand Bauer, the finest natural science artist ever. Having tracked down copies of his work with the Flinders voyage to Australia, I now discover I should look at the book that made Bauer famous--Flora Graeca.

This history tells why Flora Graeca (flora of the mediterranean region) is considered the best Botanical Book of its kind. Not only was it important to science, it was beautiful due to no expense spared for the printing--620 pounds sterling in 1820. Only 30 copies were printed. The original author John Sibthorp, died before he saw even one volume of the 10 volumes in print.

Sibthorp comes out poorly in the story--egotistical, snobbish and cheap toward Bauer, who shines as the much abused artist. Sibthorp made two journeys and Bauer accompanied him only on the first. The Flora suffered as a result. Only Bauer's work is in the publication even though Sibthorp discovered many rare plants on his second, fatal journey. He died shortly after his return but left his fortune to continue the work.

After reading this, I MUST find a copy of the Flora Graeca. I vow to visit one of the places holding Bauer's original watercolors, which this book contains. You can see both the engravings from the books and Bauers originals side by side. What a treat.