Linnaeus' earliest and thinnest opus to be published

Prelude to the Betrothal of Plants (Præludia Sponsaliorum Plantarum) was Linnaeus' first opus, a handwritten little pamphlet in which the 22-year-old author writes: "Upon these few leaves is discussed, the great analogy that exists between Plants and Animals, in their similarities in propagating their species." This work is now being published for the first time in a unique edition of 500 copies, to be launched at the Book and Library Fair in Gothenburg on September 27. The work, from 1729, was a New Year's gift to his benefactor Olof Celsius the Elder. The little 22-page pamphlet was bound in an ornate cover of gold-brocade paper and was illustrated by the author. In the preface Linnaeus describes how the invigorating warmth of spring sun causes "plants to be smitten by love". The title page depicts the union of male and female. The original is in the collections of Uppsala University Library. This personal gift was revised and published in 1746 as the dissertation Sponsalia plantarum, and a Swedish translation by Johan Gustaf Wahlbom was titled Blomstrens biläger (The Nuptials of Flowers) (1750). Illustrations from these editions, together with a Linnaeus portrait, adorn both the current 100-crown bill and the older version, taken out of circulation in 2001. Now, more than 250 years after the revised dissertation was published, the original work Prelude to the Betrothal of Plants is being premiered on the book market. The original text is in Swedish and so-called Svartbäck's Latin, a rather general expression for the learned language used by Uppsala professors in the 18th century (the name refers to Svartbäcken - a district in Uppsala) sometimes had to resort to home-made terms. The new 144-page book contains a facsimile of Linnaeus' manuscript, a complete transcription in Swedish, and an English translation. During the Book and Library Fair in Gothenburg, the book will be on sale at the Linnaues2007 Uppsala booth, starting Thursday evening, September 27. After that, it will be sold by Uppsala University Library. Prelude to the Betrothal of Plants is edited by Xtina Wootz and Krister Östlund, both with Uppsala University Library. It is part of the library's Scripta Minora series. Captions to enclosed pictures: 1) Linnaeus' own hand-drawn illustration of the love-life of dog's mercury on the title page of the original work. 2) The older Swedish 100-crown bill, taken out of circulation in 2001, adorned with a portrait of Linnaeus flanked by the title page of Wahlbom's edition of the dissertation, the plan for flower beds at the Linnaeus Garden in Uppsala, and a detail of the title page of Præludia sponsaliorum plantarum. For more information, please contact: Xtina Wootz, Uppsala universitetsbibliotek Xtina Wootz, Uppsala University Library Phone: +46 (0)18-471 39 11 or +46 (0)70-425 04 49 (cell) E-mail: Xtina.Wootz@ub.uu.se The Linnaeus2007 Uppsala project is a cooperation between Uppsala University, Municipality of Uppsala, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala County Administrative Board and the Swedish Linnaeus Society.