WEINMANN, Johann Wilhelm
German apothecary and botanist, noted for his creation of the florilegium Phytanthoza iconographia between 1737 and 1745, an ambitious project which resulted in eight folio volumes with more than 1.000 hand-coloured engravings of several thousand plants.
In 1710, he settled in Regensburg (or Ratisbon as it was known that time), and found work as the assistant of an apothecary. By 1712 he had his own apothecary. He became a town councilor in 1722, a commercial assessor in 1725, and a city assessor in 1733. His business interests flourished, allowing him the freedom to indulge in his pursuit of botany. He created a botanical garden in Regensburg.
Weinmann’s Phytanthoza iconographia is highly regarded for the quality of its colour plates, and the accuracy of its images compared with previous herbals. Weinmann was greatly respected for his writings on medicinal plants and herbs, and Phytanthoza iconographia is recognised as the first important botanical work to use colour engraved prints.
