This page is your gateway to information about the content and physical qualities of the three copies of The Herball, or Gernerall Historie of Plantes by John Gerard.

The hand-press was introduced to the world of book printing in the mid-15th century, so Gerard’s book was printed within the first century of the hand-press era.  Contained within each copy is a catalogue of over 1,000 plant species, 800 chapters, and more than 1,800 woodcuts illustrating the plants (“John Gerard”).  It should be noted, however, that of the 1,800 woodcuts, Gerard illustrated only 16 himself; the remainder were taken from Jacob Theodorus Tabernaemontanus’ book Eicones plantarum seu stirpium, which was published in 1590, just a few years prior to Gergard’s Herball.  On the physical level, these editions share several qualities, likely because each edition was printed in a similar geographical location, and within a short time-span of one another.

For more information about the physical condition of these books, click here.

For information about the cataloging of these books, click here.

For information on differences between editions, click here.

Works Cited

“John Gerard.” Encyclopædia Britannia, inc., 26 July 2015, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Gerard. Accessed 15 April 2018.