Rare books from Lowry-James Rare Prints & Books

Nuremberg:: Trew, Christoph Jakob and Wirsing, A.L.,, 1750-86.. first. Fine with original hand-coloring. A Fine original hand-colored copperplate engraving. Folio (12.5/8 x 19.25 inches, 32.05 x 48.89 cm). Presented matted in an Ivory rag mat with gilt line decoration. Sized to 18.5 x 24.5 inches, 46.99 x 62.23 cm). One of the rarest, and most elusive, of all botanical works. As stated in Gordon Dunthorne's Flower and Fruit Prints of the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries, London. 1938: Hortus Nitidissimis is one of the finest records of the cultivated flowers of the period, containing full-sized coloured of the figures. This is the showiest of the Florilegia; garden and florist's flowers painted for their beauty opposed to their scientific appeal. Many of the botanicals were rendered and appropriately credited to Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-70). Ehret's contribution to the art of botanical illustration is so instrumental, that in his well-referenced and essential tome… Read More

Nuremberg:: Trew, Christoph Jakob and Wirsing, A.L.,, 1750-86.. first. Fine with original hand-coloring. A Fine original hand-colored copperplate engraving. Folio (12.5/8 x 19.25 inches, 32.05 x 48.89 cm). Presented matted in an Ivory rag mat with gilt line decoration. Sized to 18.5 x 24.5 inches, 46.99 x 62.23 cm). One of the rarest, and most elusive, of all botanical works. As stated in Gordon Dunthorne's Flower and Fruit Prints of the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries, London. 1938: Hortus Nitidissimis is one of the finest records of the cultivated flowers of the period, containing full-sized coloured of the figures. This is the showiest of the Florilegia; garden and florist's flowers painted for their beauty opposed to their scientific appeal. Many of the botanicals were rendered and appropriately credited to Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-70). Ehret's contribution to the art of botanical illustration is so instrumental, that in his well-referenced and essential tome… Read More

Nuremberg:: Trew, Christoph Jakob and Wirsing, A.L.,, 1750-86.. first. Fine with original hand-coloring. A Fine original hand-colored copperplate engraving. Folio (12.5/8 x 19.25 inches, 32.05 x 48.89 cm). Presented matted in an Ivory rag mat with gilt line decoration. Sized to 18.5 x 24.5 inches, 46.99 x 62.23 cm). One of the rarest, and most elusive, of all botanical works. As stated in Gordon Dunthorne's Flower and Fruit Prints of the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries, London. 1938: Hortus Nitidissimis is one of the finest records of the cultivated flowers of the period, containing full-sized coloured of the figures. This is the showiest of the Florilegia; garden and florist's flowers painted for their beauty opposed to their scientific appeal. Many of the botanicals were rendered and appropriately credited to Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-70). Ehret's contribution to the art of botanical illustration is so instrumental, that in his well-referenced and essential tome… Read More

Nuremberg:: Trew, Christoph Jakob and Wirsing, A.L.,, 1750-86.. first. Fine with original hand-coloring. A Fine original hand-colored copperplate engraving. Folio (12.5/8 x 19.25 inches, 32.05 x 48.89 cm). Presented matted in an Ivory rag mat with gilt line decoration. Sized to 18.5 x 24.5 inches, 46.99 x 62.23 cm). One of the rarest, and most elusive, of all botanical works. As stated in Gordon Dunthorne's Flower and Fruit Prints of the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries, London. 1938: Hortus Nitidissimis is one of the finest records of the cultivated flowers of the period, containing full-sized coloured of the figures. This is the showiest of the Florilegia; garden and florist's flowers painted for their beauty opposed to their scientific appeal. Many of the botanicals were rendered and appropriately credited to Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-70). Ehret's contribution to the art of botanical illustration is so instrumental, that in his well-referenced and essential tome… Read More

Nuremberg:: Trew, Christoph Jakob and Wirsing, A.L.,, 1750-86.. first. Fine with original hand-coloring. A Fine original hand-colored copperplate engraving. Folio (12.5/8 x 19.25 inches, 32.05 x 48.89 cm). Presented matted in an Ivory rag mat with gilt line decoration. Sized to 18.5 x 24.5 inches, 46.99 x 62.23 cm). One of the rarest, and most elusive, of all botanical works. As stated in Gordon Dunthorne's Flower and Fruit Prints of the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries, London. 1938: Hortus Nitidissimis is one of the finest records of the cultivated flowers of the period, containing full-sized coloured of the figures. This is the showiest of the Florilegia; garden and florist's flowers painted for their beauty opposed to their scientific appeal. Many of the botanicals were rendered and appropriately credited to Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-70). Ehret's contribution to the art of botanical illustration is so instrumental, that in his well-referenced and essential tome… Read More

London:: John Van Voorst,, 1863.. Second revised. A Near Fine Copy. Octavo ( 6.5 x 9.5 inches). Green embossed publisher's cloth with gilt emblem on cover and lettering on spine. Head and foot of spine softened, corners lightly frayed. AEG. Tidy owner's signature and location dated 1868 on prelim. A fine reissue of Sowerby's classic work on British Wild Flowers, to which is now added a supplement containing 180 figures of lately discovered flowering plants by John W. Salter, ALS, FGS and the Ferns, Horsetails and Club-mosses by John E. Sowerby. Pp. xlix, 186, with frontispiece and 86 hand-colored steel engraved plates representing 1780 botanical specimens in total. The richly colored frontispiece is a fine bouquet of Wild Flowers in the style of Jane Webb Loudon. The accompanying plates are vibrant and clear throughout, not pale as often the case with this type of wild flower compendium. A fine work by one of the Sowerby family, major contributors to the illustration and documentation… Read More

New York & Philadelphia:: Audubon, J. J. & Chevalier, J.B.,, 1840-44.. First Royal Octavo. Fine condition with bright original hand-coloring. A fine original hand-colored lithograph on paper. Sheet size: 6.5 x 10.25 inches. Drawn from nature by John James Audubon, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Linnaean Society. Lithographed, printed and colored by JT Bowen, Philadelphia for the First Royal Octavo Edition of John James Audubon's The Birds of America. Includes the text from Audubon's Ornithological Biography. The Royal Octavo Edition represents John James Audubon's (1785-1851) desire to create an affordable work based on his magnum opus; the Double Elephant Folio Edition of The Birds of America. London: Published by the Author, 1827-38, with engravings produced by William H. Lizars and Robert Havell, Jr. after Audubon's dramatic life-sized portraits of North American birds set amidst their native foliage and surroundings. During the… Read More

New York & Philadelphia:: Audubon, J. J. & Chevalier, J.B.,, 1840-44.. First Royal Octavo. Fine condition with bright original hand-coloring. A fine original hand-colored lithograph on paper. Sheet size: 6.5 x 10.25 inches. Drawn from nature by John James Audubon, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Linnaean Society. Lithographed, printed and colored by JT Bowen, Philadelphia for the First Royal Octavo Edition of John James Audubon's The Birds of America. Includes the text from Audubon's Ornithological Biography. The Royal Octavo Edition represents John James Audubon's (1785-1851) desire to create an affordable work based on his magnum opus; the Double Elephant Folio Edition of The Birds of America. London: Published by the Author, 1827-38, with engravings produced by William H. Lizars and Robert Havell, Jr. after Audubon's dramatic life-sized portraits of North American birds set amidst their native foliage and surroundings. During the… Read More

New York & Philadelphia:: Audubon, J. J. & Chevalier, J.B.,, 1840-44.. First Royal Octavo. Fine condition with bright original hand-coloring. A fine original hand-colored lithograph on paper. Sheet size: 6.5 x 10.25 inches. Drawn from nature by John James Audubon, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Linnaean Society. Lithographed, printed and colored by JT Bowen, Philadelphia for the First Royal Octavo Edition of John James Audubon's The Birds of America. Includes the text from Audubon's Ornithological Biography. The Royal Octavo Edition represents John James Audubon's (1785-1851) desire to create an affordable work based on his magnum opus; the Double Elephant Folio Edition of The Birds of America. London: Published by the Author, 1827-38, with engravings produced by William H. Lizars and Robert Havell, Jr. after Audubon's dramatic life-sized portraits of North American birds set amidst their native foliage and surroundings. During the… Read More

Philadelphia:: Audubon, J.J.,, 1843.. Imperial Folio Edition. Near Fine Condition with rich original hand-coloring. . A Near Fine orginal hand-colored lithograph by JT Bowen after painting by John James Audubon. (1785-1851). Near Fine condition with a few light foxing spots at edge, not effecting the image. Rich original color, full margins. Imperial Folio (22 x 28 inches) framed to 33.75 x 29.25 inches. Archivally framed in Ecru pongee with goldleaf bevel and 2" gold leaf & burl Neoclassical frame by Lowry-James Rare Prints & Books. The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (Philadelphia c.1845-48) represents the culmination of a lifelong dream held by America's most prominent naturalist and visionary, John James Audubon (1785-1851). Following the completion of his magnum opus, the Double Elephant Folio Edition of Birds of America, c. 1824-38, Audubon was at liberty to pursue a project close to his heart, large scale portraits of all of North America's native… Read More

Philadelphia:: Audubon, J.J.,, 1845.. Imperial Folio Edition. Very Good Condition with original hand-coloring. . Original hand-colored lithograph by JT Bowen after painting by John James Audubon, FRS, FLS. Imperial Folio; 213/8 x 27 3/8 inches. Very Good condition; toning to extreme edges of sheet. 1/2 inch chip on top edge. Archivally double matted and framed in 1 inch gilt moulding. A classic Audubon still life: a charming composition of two mice nibbling on a corncob in a harvested field.  The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (Philadelphia c.1845-48) represents the culmination of a lifelong dream held by America's most prominent naturalist and visionary, John James Audubon (1785-1851). Following the completion of his magnum opus, the Double Elephant Folio Edition of Birds of America, c. 1824-38, Audubon was at liberty to pursue a project close to his heart, large scale portraits of all of North America's native animals. Audubon's effort to render America… Read More

New York:, undated [1900].. Fine. Fine condition. Original Charcoal on paper mounted onto illustration board. Signed in charcoal on lower left: "W.K.. Stone, CL Bull" Image size: 12 x 9 inches. Board size: 17 x 14 inches. An early landscape study by Charles Livingston Bull and Walter King Stone (American 1875-1949). A tonal composition of an late winter river scene with hints of snow in the foreground and on the distant hills. A murder of crows appear from around the bend on the river in the distant horizon. Due to the soft and ephemeral nature of the landscape -void of accentuated highlights or inked outlines characteristic of Bull's work- it appears the composition is most likely by Walter King Stone- with the addition of the birds contributed by CL Bull. Just who was the mentor and who was the student here is near impossible to determine. Additional drawings by both Stone and Bull acquired at the time of this acquisition place the artists in fellowship, yet no… Read More

London:: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,, 1853.. First edition. Near Fine. Near Fine Condition. Folio (11.5 x 14 inches). Original publisher's cloth with floral blind embossed decoration and gilt lettering to cover. Faint owner's signature dated 1854 on ff. Skillfully rebacked with gilt-lettered cloth spine. Lower corners slightly bumped, otherwise a very nice copy. Pp. 96, fully illustrated with colored wood engravings. Each leaf has two separate colored wood-engraved botanical illustrations on the top third of the page, with the accompanying text below. Anne Pratt (1806-1893), a grocer's daughter from Kent and author of Common Things of the Seaside and Our Native Songsters, illustrated all of her botanical books in the spirit of the Victorian Naturalists and successfully merged the study of botany with romantic flower-lore. Wild Flowers is Miss Pratt's first botanical work. In 1855, she produced her hallmark work on British Flora: The Flowering Plants and… Read More

Boston:: DeWolfe, Fiske & Co,, [1890].. First edition. Very Good. Three titles are here offered as a collection. 'Margaret Nov 22, '01' penciled on ff. of each volume. Very Good. Scuffed boards but sound with bright clean chromolithographed plates. 12mo (12.5 x 15 cm). Color-illustrated paper boards with cloth spines. Stapled. Calico-printed endpapers. Each book with 6 leaves; 8pp with b/w text illustrations and 4 chromolithographs. A nice suite of decorative late 19th century inexpensive cloth covered twelvemo printings of popular children's stories by Boston publishers DeWolfe, Fiske & Co. 1880-1905, who proclaimed in their 1888 catalogue their popular 12mos were 'the best editions ever published for the money." Although unattributed, the fine chromolithographed illustrations are by Helen Jackson whose work was produced by the noted Victorian Printers Raphael Tuck & Sons. (sdrc.lib.uiwa.edu).  Boards

New York:: E.P. Dutton & Company,, 1883.. Second Edition. Very Good+. No DJ as Issued. A Very Good+ copy. Corners bumped, head and foot of spine softened, shelf wear yet the pictorial gilt and silvered ornamentation on the boards is bright and rich, as are the fine heavily printed chromolithographed plates. Folio (9.75 x 12.75 inches). Dark brown beveled boards with gilt lettered decorative illustration to boards and spine. AEG. Former owner's dated signature on prelim. (Dec. 25, 1882) Unpaginated. 55 pages, includes four b/w lithographed plates; illustrated titlepage, dedication page, table of contents, and 11 (of 12) colored plates with tissue guards. Lacking the Hoar Frost plate. A fine selection of autumnal poems accompanied by striking seasonal floral bouquets, some with insects, by American painter, author and art instructor Lida Clarkson. (active 1870-99). Poems by William Cullen Bryant, Whittier, Mary Maples Dodge, RW Emerson, Celia Thaxter. 'To American Poets only I… Read More