Jardin De La Malmaison: Empress Josephine's Garden with an essay by Marina Heilmeyer (French Edition) [Hardcover]

H. Walter Lack (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2004

In 1798 Josephine de Beauharnais, Napoleon Bonaparte's first wife, set out to design a palace garden unlike any other in the world. The evidence of her success can be seen between the covers of this extraordinary collection of colored botanical engravings by Pierre-Joseph Redoute and other artists. At its peak, Josephine's garden included more than 250 varieties of plants, exotic flowers from the empress' native West Indies, and rare species from Australia. The catalogue of the garden became famous as one of the most exquisite publications of botanical art in the world. Prestel's elegantly designed volume includes all engravings from the original catalogue together with contemporary photos of the garden today, and an introduction and commentary by specialists from Berlin's Botanical Museum, where the original work is on permanent loan.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Of the two hundred original copies of the Jardin de la Malmaison, only twelve were sold commercially, the rest being distributed as gifts from the French state to European monarchs and dignitaries. Since each copy was hand-corrected by a colorist and since each was individually bound according to the whims of its particular owner, no two copies are alike. Prestel's book reproduces, in a slightly reduced format, all the plates from a famous copy of the Jardin, the so-called Zwei-Kaiser-Buch that was once owned by Franz I, Emperor of Austria, but is now kept at the Botanical Museum in Berlin.

About the Author

H. Walter Lack is director of the Botanical Gardens and the Botanical Museum in Berlin. He is the author of several publications on botanical history and a professor at the Freie Universitat Berlin. Marina Hellmeyer is an art historian, working principally for the Botanical Museum in Berlin. She is the author of The Language of Flowers (Prestel).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 327 pages
• Publisher: Prestel Pub (October 30, 2004)
• Language: French
• ISBN-10: 379133185X
• ISBN-13: 978-3791331850
• Product Dimensions: 14.1 x 9.7 x 6.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,240,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The secret garden, January 27, 2010

By 

Steven Broadhurst (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Jardin De La Malmaison: Empress Josephine's Garden with an essay by Marina Heilmeyer (French Edition) (Hardcover)

Wonderful collection of beautifully printed botanical plates from the garden of Josephine Bonaparte. Heavy, quality production, a joy to discover. A brief look into the history of the gardens give the reader a deeper understanding of their place in history. Recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book of Art, April 12, 2010

By 

Charles M. Marsteller "Charley_SF" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jardin De La Malmaison: Empress Josephine's Garden with an essay by Marina Heilmeyer (French Edition) (Hardcover)

This book has a very distinctive feel and texture, and as such, could itself be declared a work of art like the prints it contains.

The red silk cover is protected by a heavy case; the paper stock is European in sizing (vertically taller than the American standard) and is very think: it whispers "class."

The prints, while not as dramatic is Redoute's "Choix Des Plus Belles Fleurs" (soon to be released by the same author and published by Taschen) still well warrant the addition of this fine book to the collection of any fine book collector.

Highly recommended.