Emanuel Sweert was an early nurseryman who served as prefect for the gardens of Emperor Rudolph 11 in Germany. He sought out & propagated the latest and most interesting plants, offering them for sale at the Frankfurt Fair. The Florilegium Amplissimum et Selectissimum, published in 1612, was designed basically as a catalogue for the plants he had for sale. His illustrations were heavily influenced by De Bry and Vallet. His beautifully drawn bulbs encouraged the popular cultivation and demand that a few years later resulted in "Tulipomania".