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420 BLUMEA Vol. 40, No. 2, 1995 Review Y.KIMURA& V.P.LEONOV (eds.): C.P. Thunberg's drawings ofJapanese plants. Icones plantarum japonicarum Thunbergii. MaruzenCo., Tokyo, 1994.594pp., 355plates, 106 text-fig.& photographs. ISBN4-8395-0118-1.PriceUS$ 333.00. Among the treasures ofthe Komarov BotanicalInstitute at St. Petersburg is a folioknown as “Thunberg IconesPlantarumJaponicarem (ineditae)”. This volume contains 305 finedrawings, washedgreyapartfroma fewthatare inwatercolours. Actually,known canhardly besaid; like somanyboundcollectionsofpictures only a fewoftheinstitutions’ staffmemberswithaspecial interestin historyknowofits existence, still less haveever seen it. Goodphotographs ofthese drawings(natural size, thatis 37x26cm) formthekernelofthis work. AddedareMaxomiwicz’s notes onthe drawings(the greatRussian 19thcentury botanistMaximowiczwithhisspecial interestintheEastAsian florabrought some important historical collectionsonJapanese botany to theherbariumofSt. Peters- burg, including also thepresent volume); photographs ofthoseplants fromThun- berg’s herbarium- nowinUppsala - whichwere clearly themodelsofmanyofthe drawings; somechapters on thehistoryofJapanese botany andespecially ontherole played by Thunberg and by Maximowicz. Addedalso is anAppendix dedicatedto the fivefascicles published underthetitleof“IconesPlantarumJaponicarum”. This gives facsimilesof50prints, likethe ‘ineditae’accompanied by criticalremarksand photographs ofthecorresponding herbariumspecimens ifany.Finally, some exten- sive indexesmaketheentrance tothisworkeasy. Thisvolumeis well-produced, printed on heavyand strongpaper; thereproduc- tions appeartobe clear.Only notes inpencil can hardly be read.Iencounteredone annoying mistake:p.358, note 2, thesigns c?and9, hereexplained, are transposed. P.W. Leenhouts
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