Woodcuts and Wood-Engravings

Walther Hermann Ryff (d. 1548)
New Gross Distillier-Büch...
Zu Franckfurt: Christian Egenolffs Erben, [1556]

Walther Hermann Ryff, ca. 1500-1548, has been labelled by most a plagiarist. Expert analysis of his text and those of the works he supposedly lifted from almost certainly point to this conclusion. However, this practice was not atypical for the era, not just in texts, but in images, as well. Often, one will look at multiple volumes and see the same illustrations over and over. He was blasted, though, by none other than Vesalius, for the poor quality of his reproductions and lifted materials. Nonetheless, he still managed to produce, in about a decade, some 43 books, mostly on medical practice techniques. The illustration we feature here is from his 1556 work on distillation.

Page 22, depicting distillation equipment

Return to Exhibits Home