Johann Christoph Volkamer (June 7, 1644 – August 26, 1720) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

merchant, manufacturer and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Life

Johann Christoph Volkamer (also: ''Volcamer'', ''Volckamer'', ''Volkammer'', ''Volcameris'') was the son of the physician Johann George Volkamer. He occupied himself with

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

as a hobby, and maintained a garden in the today's

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

ian Gostenhof district. He published a two volume work about

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

in 1708–1714, titled "''Nurenberg Hesperides, or thorough description of the noble

Citron The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick Peel (fruit), rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the Citrus taxonomy#Citrons, original citrus fruits from which al ...

Lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

, and

Bitter Orange The bitter orange, sour orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the hybrid citrus tree species ''Citrus'' × ''aurantium'', and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of th ...

fruits, How to, in this and neighboring areas, correctly plant, tend, maintain and reproduce them, Together with a comprehensive enumeration of most

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s, partly actually grown at Nuremberg, partly imported to there from various foreign places ...''" In Volkamers time people thought the "''golden apples of the

Hesperides In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (; , ) are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They were also called the Atlantides () from their reputed father, Atlas (mytholog ...

''" of

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

referred to citrus fruit. Starting from late 17th Century, there developed a collecting passion for instance among the aristocracy, who tried to outdo one another with the rarest and most bizarre citrus fruits, imported at great expense from south of the Alps and developing into a symbol of social status and power. With this work the term "''Hesperides''" became the symbol for the flowering Nurembergian garden culture, which lasted from 1650 onwards up to the late 18th Century. In Volkamers book he illustrated also the Nurembergian landscapes, city panoramas, and above all the gardens of the city, illustrated beside the citrus plants and their fruits by

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

. He is said to be influenced by the work of

Giovanni Baptista Ferrari Giovanni Baptista (also Battista) Ferrari (1 May 1584 in Siena – 1 February 1655 in Siena), was an Italian Jesuit, orientalist, university teacher and botanist. Linguistically highly gifted and an able scientist, at 21 years of age Ferrari ...

Works

''Nürnbergische Hesperides, Oder Gründliche Beschreibung Der Edlen Citronat, Citronen, und Pomerantzen-Früchte, Wie solche, in selbiger und benachbarten Gegend, recht mögen eingesetzt, gewartet, erhalten und fortgebracht werden, Samt einer ausführlichen Erzehlung der meisten Sorten, welche theils zu Nürnberg würcklich gewachsen, theils von verschiedenen fremden Orten dahin gebracht worden, Auf das accurateste in Kupffer gestochen, in Vier Theile eingetheilet und mit nützlichen Anmerckungen erkläret. Beneben der Flora, Oder Curiosen Vorstellung Verschiedener raren Blumen, Samt Einer Zugabe etlicher anderer Gewächse, und ausführlichem Bericht, wie eine richtig-zutreffende Sonnen-Uhr im Garten-Feld von Bux anzulegen, und die Gärten nach der Perspectiv leichtlich aufzureissen, Wie auch einem Bericht von denen in des Authoris Garten stehenden Colvmnis Milliaribvs / Herausgegeben von J. C. V.'', Nürnberg 1708.
* ''Obeliscus Constantinopolitanus oder kurtze Erklärung des zu Constantinopol auf der Renn-Bahn stehenden, nun aber auch in der nürnbergischen Vorstadt Gostenhof nachgehauenen und aufgerichteten Obelisci'', Nuremberg 1713, Nachdruck Nuremberg 1985.
''Continvation der Nürnbergischen Hesperidvm, Oder: Fernere gründliche Beschreibung Der Edlen Citronat-, Citronen- und Pomeranzen-Früchte, mit einem ausführlichen Bericht, wie solche am besten zu warten und zu erhalten seyn; diejenigen Sorten, so theils zu Nürnberg gewachsen, theils von verschiedenen fremden Orten dahin gelanget auf das accurateste in Kupffer gestochen und nachgezeichnet worden; abermals in vier Theile eingetheilet, und mit gehörigen Anmerkungen erläutert; Benebenst einem Anhang von etlichen raren und fremden Gewächsen, als Der Ananas, des Palm-Baums, der Coccus-Nüsse, der Baum-Wolle u.a.m., welche ebenfalls in Kupffer-Rissen vorgestellet sind. Nürnberg, Frankfurt am Main und Leipzig, 1714''.

References

CITRUS AND ORANGERIES

Literature

* Wilhelm Schwemmer: ''Johann Christoph Volkamer'', in: ''Nürnberger Gestalten aus neun Jahrhunderten'', Nuremberg 1950, 135–139. * Helge Weingärtner: ''Nürnbergische Veduten in J.C. Volkamers Hesperidenwerk'', Magisterarbeit Universität Erlangen 1990. * Christian Jörg Zink: ''Ein Meisterstück der Gartenkunst. Der Garten der Familie Volkamer'', in: Katrin Bielefeldt, u.a.: ''Gostenhof, Muggenhof, Eberhardshof und Kleinweidenmühle. Geschichte eines Stadtteils'' (Nürnberger Stadtteilbücher 9, hg. von Geschichte Für Alle e.V.), Nuremberg 2005, 44–49. * Michael Diefenbacher, Rudolf Endres (Hrsg.): ''Stadtlexikon Nürnberg''. 2. verb. Auflage. Nürnberg: Verlag W. Tümmels, 2000, 1247 S., .

External links

Online-Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volkamer, Johann Christoph 1644 births 1720 deaths Merchants from the Holy Roman Empire 17th-century German botanists 18th-century German botanists Scientists from Nuremberg

Life

Works

See also

References

Literature

External links