The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Library

De bdellio

About This Item

Title

De bdellio

Subject

Plants, Medicinal
Commiphora
Resins, Plant
Book Illustrations
Incunabula

Description

Woodcut printed by Pierre Le Caron, artist unknown.
Bdellio represents Bdellium or bdellion, an aromatic gum like myrrh that is exuded from a tree. It is associated with the species, Commiphora wightii, Commiphora africana, and Commiphora stocksiana.

Source

Original image in: Grant herbier (Imprime a Paris : par Pierre Le Caron, [ca. 1498-1500]). ZYa 16 1498 (Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia)
Le Grant Herbier was the first major herbal printed in French. The anonymous text, first printed ca. 1486-1488, borrowed 264 of its 474 chapters from an earlier work, Circa instans, and also based its illustrations on woodcuts from Gart der Gesundheit. The College’s copy, the 3rd printed edition, ca. 1498-1500, contains 308 woodcut illustrations of plants, along with a few animals, identified with Latin headings. Due to limitations of the illustrations, along with variations in nomenclature, it is difficult to determine the precise identity of each plant with certainty.

Publisher

Digitized by the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Date

1498?

Contributor

Le Caron, Pierre, active 1488-approximately 1500

Language

lat
fre

Type

StillImage

Identifier

ZYa_16_1498.d3rb

Original Format

1 print : woodcut

Physical Dimensions

7 x 6 cm

Citation

“De bdellio,” The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Library, accessed November 21, 2024, https://cppdigitallibrary.org/items/show/993.