Pierre Joseph Buchoz

Pierre Joseph Buchoz 1731-1807

Buchoz was born in Metz, France. He trained in medicine and, by the age of 28, was appointed as physician to King Stanislaus of Poland. He was accused of not fulfilling his duties and left to pursue a career in botany, medicine, economics and mineralogy,eventually publishing over 300 volumes on these disciplines. He was not a botanical artist, nor did he employ artists, being content instead to "borrow" images from others. His Histoire Universelle du Règne Végétal (Universal History of the Plant Kingdom), from which our plates are derived, achieved a high aesthetic standard, equal to the highest quality natural history publications of the period. However, botanically, he was not held in high esteem although he did receive the approval of the academy for this publication, and he was a member of the academies of France and Europe.

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