London : Printed by Richard Tayor for the Author, 1804 A good part set of the 1st edition of this rare and comprehensive work. This set consists of 252 hand coloured plates with their descriptions bound in 3 volumes, but, we have not been able to confirm that they are from Volumes I - V with 2 extra plates. According to research [Cleevely, Nelson and Oliver, 2003] the work was first published in 6 volumes (with 50 plates and descriptions per volume) the first 4 being published in the years 1805-1807, but the remaining 2 published later: V not before 1816 and VI in late 1828. Complete sets are the exception! This set is in contemporary half leather bindings with marbled boards. The spines have gilt lining and title and volume labels. Contents: Vol I: hand coloured title page; plain title page to vol I dated 1804; dissertation 2pp; mode of culture 2pp; introduction 2pp; 82 plates with accompanying text. Vol II: title page Vol II 1804; Dissertation continued; 84 plates with accompanying text plus text for E. discolor. Vol III: title page Vol III dated 1806; dissertation concluded 1p; plate for E.discolor and 85 further plates with text. The work is therefore lacking 48 plates and descriptions, 3 title pages and the index. The bindings are clean with wear to the leather, particularly at the top and bottom of the spines and to the spine joints. Each volume has 'Stouthall' hand written on the front pastedown, and 2 volumes have the bookplate of R Wilbraham Falconer. Contents are generally very clean with the occasional spot or mark. The plates are beautifully coloured. Each plate is hand numbered but sadly the numbering starts anew in each volume so does not help with collation. There is the odd outbreak of spotting eg title page to Vol II and a few text pages have browning eg those opposite plates 56. 62, 68 and 73 in the 3rd volume. Please enquire if you would like us to check for particular specimens, or you would like more images.
London: Saunders and Otley, British and Foreign Public Library, 1825 A very good copy of the 1st edition of one of the earliest english language works to focus on the symbolism of plant names. Henry Phillips was a noted horticulturalist and designer of gardens. In what is probably a later binding of half leather with marbled boards. The spine has raised bands, and gilt designs and titles and is in very good clean condition with little wear. The endpapers are marbled to match the boards. With title page, hand-coloured frontispiece; hand coloured dedicatory page; preface and text with 18 further hand coloured plates. Index and directions for placing the plates at the rear - the plates are present as called for apart from 'The Declaration of Love' which is at page xv in the Preface rather than at the start of the work. The plates are generally very clean and well coloured; text pages have occasional light spotting and light marking. A very good copy of an interesting work.
London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co, 1855 A comparatively rare and well illustrated work. Classed as 'fair' because the original decorative cloth binding has been rebacked, replacing the spine and maintaining the original boards which are marked. The contents have been restitched. The binding is sound and tight, but not great to look at. Contents have occasional browning to plate and page edges, particularly where pages were previously loose and more exposed. The endpapers have been repaired and there is marking to the front and rear pastedowns. With hand coloured frontispiece, title page, 12 hand coloured plates, index to vol I, 187pp; frontispiece, and 10 further hand coloured plates, and index to Vol II, 186pp. Contents with occasional browning to pages, and occasional browning to plate edges (presumably where they have been exposed due to weak/absent stitching. There is the occasional grubby mark and occasional spotting. Ink signature to front pastedown and top of the title page to the first volume. P2 in Vol II has a small paper tear repaired with a tape that has browned. Plates generally bright and beautifully coloured.
Paris : Claude Barbin , 1695 A fair to good set in 2 volumes, in contemporary full leather binding.M Jean de la Quintinye was trained as a lawyer, but is famed for his skills in kitchen gardening. He was commissioned by Louis XIV to create a new kitchen garden for Versailles - which can still be visited today. He is said to be the first gardener to advocate pruning young fruit trees hard to ensure better growth and fruiting for the future. This set is in contemporary speckled calf bindings with raised bands and gilt decoration and titles to spines. The bindings are sound but worn, with wear to corners, edges and the top and bottom of the spines. The gilt is particularly worn on Vol I. Vol II has some cracking to the top of the front joint. Both have some library numbers to the front pastedowns and a small early ink signature to the fep. Both have a round stamp of the 'Societe de Lecture de Geneve' to the title page. Paper has light toning throughout. Text with decorative headpieces, endpieces and illustrations. Vol I: frontispiece portrait of de la Quintinye; title page in red and black; Dedication au Roy 4pp; Poem 5pp; Idyll to Quintinye 7pp; Preface; blank; folding plate; text in 3 parts pp 1-310; further folding plate; Table of chapters pp 311-316; fin. The frontispiece has some repair tape to the outer side edge; the first folding plate has an old repair; there is a small piece missing from the bottom margin of pp 259/60; some light marking on pp 297-300; the final folding plate has a crumpled edge; and there is some marking to the rear endpaper. Vol II: Title page (with some reference numbers); text in 3 parts pp 3-265 with 6 plates (one large folding); table of chapters pp 266-271; fin; Traite de la Culture des Orangers pp 273-318; table of chapters p 319; 3 plates; title page - Nouvelle Instruction pour la Culture des Fleurs 1695; table of chapters 2pp; text pp 1-140; fin. The fep is loose at the top and there is a small loss to the bottom of the initial blank; title page with some crumpling; there is some worming in the outer edge margin affecting pp 1-51 - (with some very small holes for a further 50 pp) it does not affect the text; small loss to the bottom corner of p 207; some library notes to the rear pastedown; Culture des Fleurs - some browning in the gutter pp 40-41 and repaired tear to side margin of p 76. Please enquire if you would like further images to assess condition.
London and New York: FREDERICK WARNE & CO. LTD. Fair 4 volume set in plain cloth bindings, undated but probably early 1900's, with 316 high quality colour printed plates. Classed as 'fair' because of the binding but contents are very clean and in very good condition. Each volume with frontispiece and 78 colour plates; Vol IV with index, 691pp in all (consecutive numbering). The cloth bindings have fading to spines and boards. They are quite tight but a section in Vol IV is loosening at the bottom gather and the tightness is probably more due to lack of use than quality of binding. There is some reinforcement to the gutter of a couple of pages in Vol I; sellotape ends on the fep and a pencil signature to the reverse of the final page. Vol II has some repair to the half title page. Vol IV has a plate bound out of order but all are present. A nice clean set of an authoritative work.
London, Paris, New York and Melbourne: Cassell and Company, Limited A very good set of the 5 series bound in 2 volumes. Undated but late 1800's. In newer green half leather binding with green cloth boards and spines with gilt titles, raised bands and gilt lining and decoration. Aeg. Both volumes have an armorial bookplate with the motto 'veritas vincit' on the front pastedown. With 200 colour printed plates and numerous black and white illustrations. The bindings are in very good to near fine condition with a small vertical crease down the spine of the larger volume (holding series 1-3). The contents are in very good clean condition with only the occasional mark. Some page edges protrude slightly (presumably caused by the rebinding process). Some of the plates are strongly coloured and slight colouring can show through on the reverse. A lovely set.
Boston, New York, Toronto and London: Little, Brown and Company, 1996 Near fine copy of the 1st edition, profusely illustrated. Talbot and Whiteman review all the plants mentioned in the Brother Cadfael chronicles by Ellis Peters and provide fascinating background detail on their history and uses. The dustwrapper is complete and in a removeable protective wrap. It has very slight wear at edges. The binding is clean, sound and tight. The gold endpapers have a little marking. The contents are in otherwise fine condition.
London: John and Arthur Arch, Cornhill. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green. Paternoster Row. & C Loddiges & Sons, Hackney, 1824 A scarce complete volume of Loddiges' Botanical Cabinet, with 100 hand coloured plates engraved by George Cooke. Conrad Loddiges founded a plant nursery business in Hackney and the family became famous for exotic and rare plants. The mauve rhododendron that has become common in Great Britain today was imported by Conrad Loddiges. The Botanical Cabinet showcases the rare plants that they imported and grew. This volume is volume X, dated 1824. In contemporary half leather binding with marbled boards and endpapers. Top page edges gilt. The spine has gilt compartments and elaborate gilt tooling. There are title and volume labels. Internally there is a decorative title page and then a series of plates, each followed by a brief description on a separate page. There are 100 plates of which 9 are folding. There is an index at the rear. The binding is in very good condition. There is a little rubbing and fraying to the board edges. Internally the preliminaries and title page have browning. There is some brown toning to page edges and some brown spotting/marking to the page edges most visible when the book is closed. The plates do not have tissue guards, so there is sometimes offsetting to the text pages and, very rarely, a return slight darkening on the plate. There is the odd spot otherwise, but the contents are in very good condition.
London : Groombridge and Sons, 1871 3 volumes from The Floral World, published in 1871, 1872 and 1873 in the original green decorative cloth binding with 12 colour printed plates per volume. The periodical, which Groombridge prompted Hibberd to embark on in 1858, was hugely successful with amateur gardeners. These copies are nicely bound in green cloth with gilt design and titles to front board and spine, and blind stamping to the back board. 1871 has gilt edges. They are all clean and bright - 1871 has a faded spot and a dent at the top of the front board and a slightly faded spine. All have slight pulling to spines - more marked in 1871. Internally 1871 has an ink signature on the front pastedown and a creased title page. 1872 has pale mauve endpapers which look blotchy. 1873 has very slight warping to boards; a bubbly front endpaper and a pencil signature to the top of page 1. All have patches of brown spotting - common with this work due to the paper used. The plates in 1871 are tissue-guarded - the others are not. Plates are generally clean and bright. A nice run.
LONDON: Groombridge and Sons A VG copy in the original green decorative cloth binding with gilt plant pictures and titles to front board and spine, and blind stamped decoration to rear board. The boards have bevelled edges. This work is generally attributed to Shirley Hibberd. It is clear from the Preface that it contains work from a number of authors, so it is likely that Hibberd had the editorial role. A number of the colour plates appear in 1870's copies of the Floral World - again edited by Hibberd. It is undated but is probably late 1870's/early1880's. With title page in red and black inks; colour printed frontispiece and 35 further colour printed plates, and numerous black and white illustrations - some full page. The binding is slightly shaken with a little bumping to corners and wear to edges including spine joint edges. The original endpapers are present. The contents are generally very clean apart from the very occasional brown spot. Some of the plant outlines can be seen faintly on the reverse of the plate. All the plates are tissue guarded - some of the guards are browned. This was an expensive production - on thick good quality paper. A beautiful work.
London : T M Cradock A scarce work in the original publisher's cloth binding with 17 plates, mostly hand coloured. This is Vol II of the Gardener's Library, but was issued separately and is complete in itself. It is undated but was published 1840. The cloth binding has wear, particularly to the spine where the title label is unreadable, and there is scuffing. The original yellow endpapers are present - the front endpapers have a little marking. With half title, hand coloured frontispiece; title page; dedication to Mrs Hall; preface; index to figures; text with 16 further plates and contents index. 3 plates are uncoloured - one of these is tinted. There is some browning to pages and occasional grubbiness to plates. Most of the plates are tissue-guarded. There is browning to page edges.
Paris, Rue S Jacques: Chez la Delaguette; Chez le Prieur, 1750 Second revised and enlarged edition of this popular work on the cultivation of peach trees. First published in 1745. Earliest French book entirely about the cultivation and management of peaches. In contemporary full leather binding with title label, raised bands and gilt compartments to spine. The binding is sound with some wear. Internally there is a small label pasted to the front pastedown and eividence of some writing on the fep. The contents otherwise are in VG and clean condition. 198 pages plus notes on 'Privil du Roi' at the rear.
London : Simpkin & Marshall, 1825 Volumes I - VII of the 1st edition of Maund's Botanic Garden ranging in date from 1825 to 1836 (Vol VII is undated) with 167 of 168 fine hand coloured plates. It was originally issued in parts and these volumes are in what looks like an original publisher's cloth binding which is worn and disintegrating with some poor stitching, so this set has been priced to take account of rebinding costs. The book is in a square octavo format and text pages are printed on one side only. The contents are clean and bright with beautiful colouring on the plates (faults are listed in the detailed description below). There is some offsetting where particularly strong colour has been applied and shows through to the back of the plates. All have a decorative title page and an additional title page. Vol IV has a third title page part way through the book. All are unpaginated. Vol I has a dedication 'to the lovers of Botany', preface and index - the 9th plate has some browning at the edges and there are some loose pages. Vol II has a preface and index pages. Some initial leaves are detached and the decorative title is browned. One plate lacks a tissue guard and one plate is slightly spotty as are around 5 of the surrounding text pages. Vol III has an index. The 18th plate has a slight crease at the bottom. Vol IV has a preface, index and dedication page to the Queen. The preliminaries, and title page are spotted; there is a small ink signature to the top of the second title page; and 2 plates have slight marking. Vol V has a preface and index and one plate is placed as a frontispiece. The frontispiece, and 2 title pages are spotted and 2 plates have light spotting. Vol VI has a preface and index and one plate is a frontispiece. There is some offsetting from the decorative title page onto the frontispiece and the decorative title page has browning. One plate has half a tissue guard and one plate has a small mark. Vol VII has 23 of 24 plates and one plate is a frontispiece. It has a preface, index to Part XIV and index to volume. The decorative title page is browned and there is a small hole in the second title page. 2 plates have slight marking.
London : R Chiswell in St Paul's Churchyard, T Sawbridge in Little-Britain and R Bentley in Russell-Street in Covent Garden, 1691 A very good copy of the 8th edition of Evelyn's classic work which was the first calendar produced for english gardeners (first published in 1664). John Evelyn (1620-1706) was, among other talents, a noted horticulturalist. In what appears to be the original binding which has been repaired so that it has a newer spine. The spine has a red title label and gilt lettering and decoration around raised bands. There is some wear to the edges of the boards but the binding is otherwise in very good condition. Internally the free endpapers look to have been replaced at some point. There is a black and white engraved frontispiece and title page with red and black inks. There is an ink marking at the top of the title page which has blotted onto the top of the frontispiece. With dedication to Abraham Cowley Esq; a dedicated poem by Abraham Cowley called 'The Garden' to John Evelyn (which has 2 ink signatures of A Cowley at the end - it seems unlikely that these are original); introduction to the Kalendar; and the Kalendar arranged in months. Each month has 2 title sections with its name in red capitals with an astrological sign - the first section covers the Orchard and Olitory Garden; the second the Parterre and flower garden. There is a section on the new conservatory or green-house illustrated with an engraving; a section on the best fruit varieties; a detailed index and an errata page. There is another ink signature at the rear. The contents are in very good condition bar the occasional brown spot. 175 pp plus the index and errata page
LONDON : Groombridge and Sons, 1883 In green decorative cloth binding with gilt design and lettering. Numerous black and white illustrations in the text - varying from plants to greenhouses and associated equipment. With 6 coloured plates - 3 of which are double size fold out. Bound with publisher's catalogue at the rear.The binding is in very good condition with only slight wear. Internally, the front endpaper has a couple of marks - probably where a bookplate was removed and pricing rubbed out. The page edges are slightly browned and there is some light foxing. The rear endpaper is slightly grubby.
