Blossfeldt (Karl) Urformer der Kunst: Photographische Pflanzenbilder, second edition, 120 photographic plates, title lightly creased, hinges weak with front free endpaper (with small inscription) and half-title loose, original green cloth, gilt, a little rubbed and marked, spine ends and corners worn, 4to, Berlin, 1929.

⁂ Blossfeldt started his career as an apprentice sculptor but turned to photography after observing the flowing plant forms of Art Nouveau. Taking his first photographs in about 1896 he then photographed nothing but plants for thirty-five years, using a home-made plate camera and three different sizes of negatives. His plants were shot in front of neutral backgrounds and lit with weak daylight whenever possible, direct lighting was used to define form and sharp focus to expose detail and texture. Urformer der Kunst (Archetypes of Art) was his first book and was first published in 1928.