1. German, 1799.
Der Plauische Grund bei Dresden, mit Hinsicht auf Naturgeschichte und schöne Gartenkunst. Herausgegeben von W.G. Becker, mit fünf und zwanzig Kupferblättern. Nürnberg, Frauenholzischen Kunsthandlung, 1799.

2 parts. 2°: x, [2], 128 p.; [4], 120 p., one folding map, 16 full-page engraved views of the "Plausiche Grund," and 8 hand-colored plates.

Rare. This splendid publication, ranking among the finest produced in eighteenth century Nürnberg, was edited by Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker. It describes the landscape gardens and the natural history of the beautiful "Plausiche Grund," a rural valley located near Dresden in Saxony. It was published in two parts the first being illustrated with 16 very fine views of the gardens engraved by Darnstedt after drawings made by the famous Johann Christian Klengel [1751-1824] and Friedrich Adam Oeser [1717-1799]. The rare second part describes the natural history of the area including in the botanical section a catalog of the wild plants (pp. 45-94) by Frederick Traugott Pursch. Another section by Andreas Tauber describes the mineralogy of the valley, which is enhanced by four splendid hand-colored engraved plates. At the end is a catalog of insects prepared by Ludwig Heinrich Freihern von Block [1764-    ] that is also illustrated on four superb hand-colored plates.

Contents: T. 1.: Der Plauische Grund bei Dresden. T. 2.: I. Mineralogische Beschreibung des Plauischen Grundes bis Tharand, von Andreas Tauber. II. Verzeichnis der im Plauischen Grunde ... wildwachsenden Pflanzen, von Friedrich Traugott Pursch. III. Verzeichnis der merkwürdigesten Insekten welche im Plauischen Grunde gefunden werden von Ludwig Heinrich Freiherrn von Block.

Frederick Pursh. (Born: 1774; Died: 1820) German/ American botanist. Pursch came to the United States in 1799 and changed his name to Frederick Pursh. He authored the Flora Americæ Septentrionalis (London, 1814), considered the first complete work on the flora of America north of Mexico.

Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker. (Born: 1753; Died: 1820) German historian. Need Biography.

Bibliographical references: Pritzel, Thesaurus Literaturæ Botanicæ, 1871-3: no. 7369. • Stafleu & Cowan, Taxonomic Literature, 1976-88: no. 8403. • Ward & Carozzi, Geology Emerging, 1984: no. 160. (Pursh) ABA: I 1315, 286-290; II 490, 191. • Appleton Cyclopedia of American Biography. • DAB: 15, 271. • Drake, Dictionary of American Biography, 1872. • Ewan, J.A., "Frederick Pursh, 1774-1820, and his botanical associates," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society., 96 (1952), 599-628. • National Cyclopedia of American Biography. • WBI. (Becker) ADB. • DBA: I 72,167-184. • Eckstein, Nomenclator philologorum, 1871. • Hamberger & Meusel, Gelehrte Teutschland, 1796-1834. • Haymann, C.J.G., Dresdens Theils Neuerlich Gestorbene, Theils jetzt lebende Schriftsteller und Künstler. Dresden, 1809. • Lange, E., Modetänze um 1800 in Becker's Taschenbüchern 1791-1827 und ihr Einfluss auf die Volkstanzpraxis des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts in Niederdeutschland. Herausgegeben von Elfriede und Karl-Heinz Lange, mit Beiträgen von Roswitha Busch-Hofer und Volker Klotzsche. Berlin, Deutscher Bundesverband Tanz, 1984. 132 p., illus. • WBI.