Johann Christoph Volkamer (June 7, 1644 – August 26, 1720) was a
German merchant, manufacturer and
botanist.
Life
Johann Christoph Volkamer (also: Volcamer, Volckamer, Volkammer, Volcameris) was the son of the physician
Johann George Volkamer. He occupied himself with
botany as a hobby, and maintained a garden in the today's
NurembergianGostenhof district. He published a two volume work about
citrus in 1708–1714, titled "Nurenberg Hesperides, or thorough description of the noble
Citron,
Lemon, and
Bitter Orange fruits, How to, in this and neighboring areas, correctly plant, tend, maintain and reproduce them, Together with a comprehensive enumeration of most
cultivars, partly actually grown at Nuremberg, partly imported to there from various foreign places ..."
In Volkamers time people thought the "golden apples of the
Hesperides" of
Greek mythology referred to citrus fruit. Starting from late 17th Century, there developed a collecting passion for instance among the aristocracy, who tried to outdo one another with the rarest and most bizarre citrus fruits, imported at great expense from south of the Alps and developing into a symbol of social status and power.
With this work the term "Hesperides" became the symbol for the flowering Nurembergian garden culture, which lasted from 1650 onwards up to the late 18th Century.
In Volkamers book he illustrated also the Nurembergian landscapes, city panoramas, and above all the gardens of the city, illustrated beside the citrus plants and their fruits by
engraving.
Obeliscus Constantinopolitanus oder kurtze Erklärung des zu Constantinopol auf der Renn-Bahn stehenden, nun aber auch in der nürnbergischen Vorstadt Gostenhof nachgehauenen und aufgerichteten Obelisci, Nuremberg 1713, Nachdruck Nuremberg 1985.
Wilhelm Schwemmer: Johann Christoph Volkamer, in: Nürnberger Gestalten aus neun Jahrhunderten, Nuremberg 1950, 135–139.
Helge Weingärtner: Nürnbergische Veduten in J.C. Volkamers Hesperidenwerk, Magisterarbeit Universität Erlangen 1990.
Christian Jörg Zink: Ein Meisterstück der Gartenkunst. Der Garten der Familie Volkamer, in: Katrin Bielefeldt, u.a.: Gostenhof, Muggenhof, Eberhardshof und Kleinweidenmühle. Geschichte eines Stadtteils (Nürnberger Stadtteilbücher 9, hg. von Geschichte Für Alle e.V.), Nuremberg 2005, 44–49.
Michael Diefenbacher, Rudolf Endres (Hrsg.): Stadtlexikon Nürnberg. 2. verb. Auflage. Nürnberg: Verlag W. Tümmels, 2000, 1247 S.,
ISBN3-921590-69-8.