Köhler’s Medicinal Plants (Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen ) vol. 1 is one of the most sought-after compendiums I have ever worked with. I cannot explain whether it is due to the illustrations or the selection of plants, because I have come across many other botanical publications that have both equally beautiful illustrations and an equally large and wide selection of plants as Köhler’s Medicinal Plants. But having said that, I will not deny at all that it has a large selection of plants, and that the illustrations are unbelievably beautiful. I just can’t help wondering if it’s just a matter of popularity and availability that has given Köhler’s Medicinal Plants an ultimate first place.
Nevertheless, it is also one of the first collections that I worked with when I started doing graphic work with antique and historical illustrations, and therefore perhaps it also has a nostalgic meaning for me.
Köhlers Medicinal Plants is a German herbal written principally from 1887, made by Hermann Adolph Köhler, and contains a fascinating collection of 88 medicinal plant illustrations. The illustrations are incredibly detailed and even provide a glimpse into the history of traditional medicines. All of the illustrations were originally hand drawn and show each plant’s unique features and characteristics, making this an invaluable resource. The level of detail found in these illustrations is truly stunning and it’s not just academics who can appreciate Köhlers Medicinal Plants either – anyone with an interest in nature, or just wanting to enjoy something beautiful, will surely find this collection of botanical illustrations interesting.
All the plant images in the series that are offered via digiARTguy have undergone a major digital processing, including an upscaling and a refinement, and the background has also been homogenized. Furthermore, manual corrections and notes that have been applied to the illustrations throughout the ages have been removed, so that the illustrations visually appear as they did at the time of publication, regardless of their scientific diversity in relation to contemporary species specification.
A few corrections have been made in color correction, but basically the slight fading colors and miscoloring in the illustrations based on the age of the paper at the time it was photographed have been retained, to preserve the authentic feel of old paper, and to give the correct vintage feel.
Below you see the collection of 88 plant illustrations from Köhler’s Medicinal Plants (Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen ) vol. 1. If you need them in larger sizes to be able to print out, maybe as posters and such, they can be found or custom ordered here on this website.
If you would like to order a finished illustration and not just a downloadable image file, you can use the Fine Art Printery website, which produces them on an High Quality antique-striped matte paper that gives a really nice authenticity.
You are free to copy and use the images you find on this blog post as you wish, and please do tell others where you found them.
If you would like them in an even higher resolution, and see even more images from the fantastic Köhler’s Medicinal Plants Vol.1, then you can find the collection here
