Our Notes & References

First edition of this rare, large-format work published in Saint Petersburg and presenting the new palm house in Russia’s northern capital, along with hand-coloured lithographs and descriptions of outstanding floral specimens.

Complete with its two parts, published with a 6-year interval.

Very rare, especially on the market, as we couldn’t find any other copy selling at auction, including in Russia. WorldCat shows 6 copies, with only 3 in the US (Chicago, Saint Louis and Morton Arboretum).

The Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden, the second-oldest such institution in Russia, was founded in 1714 on Apothecary Island, which took its name from the herb garden planted there by Peter the Great. In 1823 it became the Imperial Botanical Garden. 25 greenhouses were constructed in the 1820s, and 1845 saw the construction of a new palm house, to which this publication is dedicated.

The large, thin folio is complete with its two volumes, respectively published in 1846 and 1852. The first opens with a description in French of the building of the palm house, with special attention paid to the innovations imposed by Petersburg’s harsh climate. There follows an architectural plan of the new edifice, before fine, sometimes impressive botanical plates, including some hand-coloured, together with scientific descriptions in Latin of the exotic plants that the authors – Fischer and Meyer – have succeeded in cultivating. The former served as director of the Botanical Garden from 1823 to 1850, after which he was succeeded by another Russian-German scholar, Carl Anton von Meyer.

The second part of the publication follows a format similar to the first: architectural information and illustrations – including a remarkably fine interior view – captioned in French and Russian, followed by botanical studies in Latin. It was edited by Meyer alone, though it includes contributions from Fischer. A contemporary account hints at some drama underlying this change, regarding “discussions” arising from the construction of the new palm house, which compelled Dr. Fischer to “quit the garden, the library, the herbarium, and the other collections, which had been almost wholly formed by himself and which he cherished with a parent’s love” (Bell, p. 40).

Bibliography

Nissen 629; Sitwell and Blunt, p. 56; Pritzel 2916; Stafleu 1788; Bell, T. “Address of Thomas Bell, Esq., V.P.R.S., etc. the President, Together with Obituary Notices of Deceased Members by John J. Bennett, Esq., F.R.S., the Secretary, Read at the Anniversary Meeting of the Linnean Society on Thursday, May 24, 1855.” Taylor & Francis: London, 1855.