Flora Conspicua: A Selection of the Most Ornamental Flowering, Hardy, Exotic and Indigenous Trees, Shrubs and Herbaceous Plants

Lovely copy of a very ornamental Georgian gardening book with plates by William Clark.

Complete with 60 finely hand-coloured engravings on steel of popular garden flowers including chrysanthemum, cyclamen, lily, lobelia, delphinium, amaryllis, azalea, wisteria, magnolia, rhododendron, poppy, peony, passionflower, Japanese quince, etc. One double page plate of a huge Chinese Moutan peony.

Drawn and engraved on steel from living specimens by William Clark.

First published in parts, each with four engravings, at 3s 6d each.

"This elegant little work appeared in numbers which commenced in 1825 and ceased in September 1826, when only fifteen had appeared." History of English Gardening, George WIlliam Johnson, 1829.

"We confess we do not perceive the utility of this work as a botanical publication, but we must, nevertheless, do justice to the execution of the plates by Mr. Clark, which are really beautiful specimens of art. Such talents deserve to be better employed than in drawing and engraving subjects like Azalea pontica, and other well known things." The Gardener's Magazine, 1828.

The author Richard Morris was a "surveyor, landscape gardener and planter," author of The Botanist's Manual 1824, Essays of Landscape Gardening 1825, Flora Conspicua 1826, and artist of Panoramic View Round the Regent's Park 1831.

Little is known of William Clark who worked as a botanical artist, draughtsman and engraver to the Horticultural Society of London in the 1820s and 1830s. In addition to the botanical plates in Flora Conspicua, he also contributed to Stephenson and Churchill's Medical Botany 1827-31, John Lindley's Pomological Magazine 1828, Robert Sweet's British Flower Garden 1838, and Transactions of the Horticultural Society. He also drew and engraved the plates for Rebecca Hey's botanical works Moral of Flowers 1833, and engraved her original drawings in Spirt of the Woods, 1837.

Recently rebound in full leather, spine with five raised band, gilt title and date, one scuff to leather on front board, marble endpapers, plates and text pages clean apart from a few spots, all botanical plates with exquisite hand-colour in very rich, vibrant tones.

A lovely copy of this ornamental book by a master botanical artist and engraver.