Martius. The Book of Palms
On December 15, 1868, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794–1868), Professor of Botany at the University of Munich and director of the Royal Botanic Garden, was laid to rest in a coffin draped with fresh palm leaves—a fitting tribute to his monumental work, Natural History of Palms, published in three volumes between 1823 and 1853.
This encyclopedic masterpiece features 240 exquisite chromolithographic illustrations, drawn from von Martius’s expeditions across Brazil and Peru. Between 1817 and 1820, he journeyed more than 2,250 km (1,400 miles) through the Amazon basin alongside zoologist Johann Baptist von Spix, studying natural history and indigenous cultures.
The result was an unparalleled catalogue of all known palm genera, establishing the modern classification of palms, documenting every species in Brazil, and producing the first maps of palm biogeography. Von Martius’s folio is particularly remarkable for its cross-section diagrams, which reveal the internal structure of these towering trees—an architectural perspective that would have been nearly unimaginable to Central Europeans at the time. Equally striking are the color landscapes, depicting individual palms in elegant simplicity and solitary grandeur.
Details
- 512 pages
- Dimensions: 6.25" W x 8.5" D
- Hardcover
About The Author
H. Walter Lack is a professor at the Free University of Berlin and former director of the Botanical Gardens and Botanical Museum in Berlin-Dahlem. A leading authority on the history of botany, his research examines the global transfer of useful and ornamental plants through a cultural-historical lens. He is the author of TASCHEN’s Garden of Eden, The Book of Palms, and Redouté. The Book of Flowers.
Brand
TASCHEN began in 1980 as Benedikt Taschen’s small comic bookstore in Cologne and has grown into one of the world’s leading art-book publishers, celebrated for its dazzling, boldly designed volumes across art, architecture, photography, fashion, design, and pop culture. From pocket-sized books that helped democratize visual culture to SUMO-scale Collector’s Editions, TASCHEN remains committed to diversity, innovation, and treating every subject—whether a $10 title or a $10,000 masterpiece—with equal respect and craftsmanship.
Working closely with acclaimed creatives, the privately owned publisher has released thousands of titles in dozens of languages and now operates globally through an e-commerce site, international distribution network, and 12 flagship stores from Beverly Hills to Hong Kong. With teams spanning cultures, generations, and creative disciplines, TASCHEN fosters a down-to-earth, collaborative spirit while continuing to shape books that feel less like publications and more like immersive, museum-worthy experiences.
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