Restored Herbarium

Exhibit of the Month 10 / 2017

Theodorus, Jacobus, 1520 – 1590 New vollkommenlich Kräuter-Buch. Basel: Johann König, 1664.

Restored herbarium of one of the most significant botanists of the 16th century, founder of German spa medicine. He worked on the book his entire life and first presented it in 1588. The copy published in 1664 was restored in 1995 at the restoration studio of Jana Náprstková at the National Museum in Prague.

“There is no herb in the world that is not for something,” says an old Czech proverb. The interest in the effects of medicinal plants has accompanied humanity since time immemorial. The first evidence of their use in treating diseases in areas of Asia and North Africa dates back to 4,000 years ago. The need to record the effects and uses of individual plants for healing purposes led over the centuries, through oral transmission and handwritten records, to the compilation of so-called herbals or recipe books, which, especially after the invention of the printing press, could reach a larger circle of interested parties. They were particularly popular during the 16th century. The most famous from that time in our country is Matthioli's herbal, which was published in the first Czech translation by Tadeáš Hájek in Prague in 1562.

However, there were a number of other significant works in this field, such as the herbal of one of the most important botanists of the 16th century, physician and founder of German spa medicine Jacob Theodor Tabernaemontanus (1522 or 1525-1590). He worked on the book his entire life and first presented it in 1588.

The damaged edition from 1664, located in the collection fund of the museum library in Most, was restored in 1995 by the restorer of the National Museum in Prague, Mrs. Jana Náprstková.