Book Description
Album Vilmorin: A Botanical Atlas at the Intersection of Science and Art
The French company Vilmorin-Andrieux & Cie, founded in the 18th century, emerged from the collaboration between grain and plant merchant Philippe Victoire de Vilmorin and his father-in-law, Pierre Andrieux, botanist to the King of France. Although the Vilmorin family initially operated as seed producers and merchants in the Paris market, they made profound and lasting contributions to the development of botanical and agronomic knowledge.
In 1766, Vilmorin published its first seed catalogue, featuring a wide range of vegetables, legumes, leafy greens, flower seeds, and bulbs. This was followed by a series of periodical publications distinguished by the exceptional quality of their botanical and horticultural content, matched by illustrations of equal refinement and precision. By the mid-19th century, driven by Louis de Vilmorin’s groundbreaking research into plant selection and heredity, the company expanded across production, trade, and scientific research, becoming the most influential seed company in the world at the time.
Album Vilmorin: Les Plantes potagères (1850–1895) was produced during this golden era. The volume presents 46 magnificent color plates, widely regarded as masterpieces of agro-botanical illustration. Approximately fifteen artists contributed to the project, most of whom were trained as natural-history painters at the Jardin des Plantes (formerly the Royal Gardens) in Paris, including Elisa Champin, who created many of the finest plates. These works achieve a rare balance between scientific accuracy and artistic excellence, capturing the form, color, and structure of historic fruit and vegetable varieties with remarkable clarity.
Faithfully reproduced with exceptional printing quality, this book offers not only outstanding visual appeal but also serves as an important historical resource for research into cultivar evolution and heirloom plant varieties. It is an essential reference for botanists, horticultural specialists, natural history enthusiasts, and collectors of fine art books alike.
Publication Details
Author: Werner Dressendorfer
Publisher: TASCHEN
Year of Publication: 2010
Format: Large box (PA)
Dimensions: 55 × 41 cm
Pages: 34 pages