Caption: "Gerard, History of Plants, 'The best known of all the English herbals' - Agnes Arber, printed by John Norton, London, 1597. Gerard, a Barber-Surgeon, employed his energies chiefly upon horticulture and for twenty years had a renowned garden in Holborn, the fashionable suburb of London. Gerard's reputation rests on his work 'Generall Historie of Plants.' Most of the 1800 woodcuts used were taken from earlier herbals, but the one illustrating the potato plant is perhaps the first figure of the plant ever issued. We cannot accept Gerard's work as that of a scientist, for, as Arber states, his 'account of the 'Goose tree' . . . 'tree bearing Geese,' removes what little respect one may have for him as a scientist, not indeed because he held an absurd belief, which was widely current at the time, but because he described it, with utter disregard of truth, as confirmed by his own observations.' Gerard states, 'But what our eies have seene and hands have touched, we shall declare.' He then relates ‘that trees actually bearing shells, which open and hatch out barnacle geese occur in the northern part of Scotland.’ Many copies of Gerard’s Herbal were treasured in English homes for well over two hundred years-as a guide for folk medicine. The ‘virtues’ of the plants made this the ‘Home Book of Medicine’ for every possible ailment, as ‘King’s evil,’ ‘casting for the dead child,’ ‘shortness of breath,’ ‘dissolving clotted blood,’ ‘cooling the heat of the inward partes,’ and even baldness.’ The printer of this work, John Norton, alderman, Printer to Queen Elizabeth in Latin and Greek, was also the first to establish a press at the college of Eton. Norton had previously commissioned a Dr. Priest to translate into English and great botanical work of Dodoens published in 1583, but Priest died before the work was finished. Gerard adopted Priest’s work, rearranged and completed it, and published it dishonestly as his own.”
Botany--History Botany, Medical--Early works to 1800 Herbals--Early works to 1800 Natural history Printing--England--History--16th century Early printed books--Specimens Printing--Specimens
Place
London (England)
Source
Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
