As part of the International Year of Biodiversity, we invite you to meet Dr Stephen Harris, Druce Curator of the Oxford University Herbaria and University Research Lecturer, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford and Green College.
Stephen Harris is the author of The Magnificent Flora Graeca, which has been translated into Greek by Associate Professor , Department of Biology, Section of Botany, University of Athens. Presentations by Stephen Harris and the other invited speakers will be followed by a round-table discussion between publishers, professors and other university representatives and writers.
The Magnificent Flora Graeca tells the extraordinary story of one of the most famous and beautiful of all botanical books, Flora Graeca by English botanist John Sibthorp. The publication of Flora Graeca was a landmark event in 1830. Only 25 copies were published due to the size of ten double folio volumes and its numerous illustrations. It cost over £620, a colossal sum at the time.
Flora Graeca brought together beautiful renderings of the fruits of the travels of Sibthorp (and his renowned illustrator Ferdinand Bauer), who made multiple trips to the eastern Mediterranean in the early nineteenth century to collect a rich array of exotic floral specimens. Now The Magnificent Flora Graeca chronicles Sibthorp’s immense undertaking, including brilliant selections from his groundbreaking volume.
The event is being organised in collaboration with Diavlos Publications and the National Hellenic Research Foundation.
