Die Herausgabe der Iconographie des orchidées du Brésil von João Barbosa Rodrigues – Eine nicht alltägliche Geschichte

Abstract

With this issue of the Iconography, written by the botanist João Barbosa Rodrigues between 1877 and 1898 and not published at that time, the special circumstances of a facsimile publication are made clear. Owing to the fact that the original drawings of the orchids, badly preserved in places, are held in Brazil and the United States, negotiations for their release on loan could only be done through the appropriate consulates. The difficulties concerning formalities, safety precautions, regulations and special conditions often seemed impossible to resolve. It was only thanks to the organisation of an official cultural exchange between Brazil and Switzerland and the combination of favourable circumstances that it became possible
to publish this scientifically significant work in 1996.