The World of Carolus Clusius:

Natural History in the Making, 1550–1610

---

Florike Egmond

Perspectives in Economic and Social History

This vibrant study explores the way in which European knowledge of the natural world was transformed during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Based on a large collection of primary source material – mainly correspondence – Egmond investigates horticultural techniques, fashions in the collection of rare plants, botanical experimentation and methods of scientific evaluation, as well as tracking the exchange of knowledge.

Central to this activity is the figure of Carolus Clusius (1526–1609), the first truly scientific botanist. The transformation of people's everyday experience with plants is shown through the practical manifestations of this newly found fervour: the growth of collecting, garden display and fascination with the rare and exotic.

Sample pages

• Carolus Clusius: Introduction
• Carolus Clusius: Index

Readership

Early Modern History, Natural Sciences and the History of Science

Contents

Introduction
I The Southern Netherlands
1The Garden of Europe: Botany as a Courtly Fashion in the Southern Netherlands
2 Expert Gardeners: Growing Rare Plants during the late Sixteenth Century
II Habsburg Women
3 Women in the Garden: Noble Women and the Passion for Plants
4 Female Experts: Elegance and Rivalry
III Italy
5 Growing Expertise: Gardeners, Collectors, Naturalists
6 Nature in the Garden: The Rise of the Expert Naturalist
IV France
7 Fieldwork in France: Exploring the Indigenous Flora
8 French Collectors between Port and Court: The Desire for Rarity
V Holland
9 Dutch Ports: Curiosity and the Exotic
10 Town and Gown: Leiden and the Convergence of European Cultural Traditions
VI Beyond Place
11 Interlocking Networks: London and Amsterdam
12 Spanning the World: Dealing with Exotics
Conclusion

Reviews

'The notes and references are thorough and this book will be a valuable addition to anyone diverted by the early history of science.'
– Brian J Ford, The Biologist

'...it is a real triumph of this volume that it provides so much documentation on the commercial dealers and the trade connections through which plants and natural history specimens circulated around Europe.'
– Brent Elliot, Journal of the History of Collections

'erudite, elegant and clear'
– Harold J Cook, British Journal for the History of Science

Related titles

• The Aliveness of Plants: The Darwins at the Dawn of Plant Science
• Natural Science and the Origins of the British Empire
• The Scientific Correspondence of Sir Joseph Banks, 1765–1820

Return to top

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•