Hints on cacti. [Catalogue]. by [GARDENING -- CACTUS]. BLANC, A.[lbert] - [1889].

Philadelphia, PA: A. Blanc & Co., 314-316 N. 11th St., Greenhouses, 48th & Walnut Streets, [1889]. 8vo. 98 pp. Electrotype engraved text illustrations throughout. Illustrated gray-green softcovers, cover art of cactuses on front & back covers (chipping, edgewear, upper right corner w/ creasing for first couple signatures, many entries w/ manuscript pencil markings), still a G- copy, w/ numerous manuscript pencil slips laid-in by Victorian cactus collector and enthusiast remarking on their own specimens, and origins, including Texas, California & Oregon. First edition, thus, of this scarce catalogue issued by the first American company to specialize in propagating and selling cactuses beginning in 1886. Included are hints on greenhouses, soils, soil conditions for cactuses, necessary protective equipment for an enthusiast’s fingers, and how to create cactus gardens. Blanc(1850-1928) was a noted engraver and printer who specialized in producing engravings from photographs for seed and nursery companies, pioneering the process which would become so successful and automated by the Burpee Company. His cactus nursery business would become the most successful in the country by the end of the 19th Century. No copies located for 1889 (1886, 1888, 1890 & 1890 dated catalogues w/ varying paginations from 59 - 112 pp.); See: Larry Mitich, The World of A. Blanc, Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. XLV (1973), pp. 158-170, 203-213, 259-269; Appendix I: Art in Catalogues, A Short History of The Seed & Nursery Catalogue in Europe & The U.S. (Oregon State University Special Collections).