Botanica Magnifica

From the Abbeville Press,

The original edition of Botanica Magnifica, consisting of five lavishly hand-bound volumes, was limited to just ten copies, the first of which was recently donated to the Smithsonian Institution. The extra-large “double-elephant” format of that edition was chosen in homage to the famous double-elephant folio of The Birds of America, and indeed, Botanica Magnifica is one of the few works of natural history ever to rival Audubon’s magnum opus in its scope and artistry. In praise of the double-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica, the Smithsonian’s Chairman of Botany attested, “Everyone who has seen the photographs . . . has been tremendously impressed with the power, scale, and depth of the work.”

Botanica Magnifica features two hundred and fifty stunning photographs of rare and exotic plants and flowers by Hasselblad Laureate Award winner Jonathan Singer.

The original volume hand sown by Kerstin Tini Miura, is hand bound in goatskin, by German master bookbinder who now has ateliers both in California and Japan.

Each plant pictured is accompanied by a clear description of its botany, geography, folklore, history, and conservation. The species included are rare plants, historically significant flowers, gold medal winners, newly discovered plants, and plants that are just beautiful.

A podiatrist photographs some of the world’s most endangered flowers with remarkable precision and artistry, hoping to raise the plants’ profiles before it’s too late. — Audubon magazine

…its his [Singers] flowers, in Botanica Magnifica, that have caused quite a stir. Art aficionados marvel at their painterly quality, and botanists are in awe of how Singer manages to capture them so true to form… — Smithsonian.com

Botanica Magnifica is truly one of the most amazing natural history publications that has ever appeared… — Zoom magazine

As rare and sublime as the marvels surveyed within its broad covers, Singer has produced a work to rest alongside some of the great botanical codexes in history, one for connoisseurs of the still-life, natural phenomena, and the photographic art. — Library Journal

John Kress at the Smithsonian