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Pure Curiosity - Botanical Letters, JJ Rosseau: Hardback: 1st Edition: Botany
Pure Curiosity - Botanical Letters, JJ Rosseau: Hardback: 1st Edition: Botany
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Pure Curiosity: Botanical Letters and Notes Towards a Dictionary of Botanical Terms
By Jean-Jacques Rosseau.
Published by The Felix Gluck Press Ltd, 1979. First Edition. Hardback cover with dustjacket (unclipped), 155 pages. Colour illustrations throughout.
CONDITION
Overall excellent condition - see photos. Only very small signs of use, almost as new. No names or writing. Images crisp & clear throughout.
An elegant and enchanting excursion into the world of botanical observation, Pure Curiosity combines the the acute acute perception and sensitivity of the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau with the skill and artistry of one of the greatest names in the history of botanical illustration, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, the celebrated Salon painter once hailed
as the 3 Raphael of flowers. Throughout his lifetime Rousseau displayed a passionate interest in the study of plants and flowers, but never more so than in his last fifteen years, beginning in 1762 when the French government condemned Emile and he was forced to flee France to seek asylum in his native Switzerland
It was here, particularly on the island of Saint-Pierre in Lake Biel, and later in England, at Wooten Hall near the Staffordshire-Derbyshire border, that he began his botanical studies in earnest - as much as a means of solace as out of a profound desire classify and categorize the natural world about him.
Between 1771 and 1773 Rousseau encapsulated his experiences and observations in a series of eight letters written to guide a friend to instruct her daughter in the principles of botany. It is these so-called "elementary letters" that form
the basis of Pure Curiosity. Notable for their charm, delicacy and lightness of touch, the letters were circulated widely in the intellectual salons fashionable at the time. First published in 1782 five years after his death, in a collected edition of his work, the letters were subsequently issued on their own in 1800 and 1802. It was not until 1805. however-with the stunning addition of sixty- five colour plates created from Redouté's minutely observed and magnificently executed watercolour illustrations-that La Botanique, as it had come to be called, was hailed as a classic amongst connoisseurs of both flowers and books
Superbly designed and produced, with a perceptive critical introduction by Roy MeMullen, Pure Curiosity is a facsimile edition based on a new translation of Rousseau's letters and the color plates of the third (1821) edition of La
Botanique. Much more than just another flower album from a bygone era, it will delight and fascinate gardeners, plant lovers and any other "thinking, sensitive human being" who enjoys "observing nature and the marvels of the universe."
(Bindery A2)
