Botany

I.N. Kushnerev & Ko., Moskva (Moscow), 1892. Printed boards, no dust jacket. Good /No Jacket. A well-used copy of the rare first edition of a popular Russian flora. The author was Piotr Feliksovich Maevsky (1851-1892). Significant edgewear to cover, internally sound with minimal tanning of paper. Owner's signature and oil spot on ffep (M. Kirshbaum?), another on end paper (V. Rikovshky?) with oaktree bookplate of Heino Ross. Spine sl. frayed at top edge, some insect damage to glued areas. The text contains keys to genera and species, generic descriptions and Russian and Latin names of genera and species, summaries of distribution (by local government region) and habitat, flowering times, and selected line drawings mostly showing both the whole plant and flowers or fruits. A compact yet comprehensive flora which went through several editions, a third (edited by B. Fedchenko) in 1902 and another in 1917, an 8th (with a slightly different title) in 1954 and a 9th (edited by B.K. Shishkin) in 1964.… Read More

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown; et al., 1816. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. First Edition. Large 4to (25 x 31cm). Complete with 88 fine hand-coloured engraved plates: numbered. I-LXXXIV and 4 Supplementary plates, engraved by H. W. Edwards from drawings by the author; pp. [xxvii], 20, [2 Index] plus (usually) two leaves of letterpress accompanying each plate; half-title present. Bound in later half speckled calf with marbled paper boards, very good with slight rubbing. Contents clean and tight, marbled end papers, no inscriptions, a little minor foxing, and very light offsetting to a few plates. A very nice copy. Provenance: purchased by the previous owner from Francis Edwards catalogue 1019, dated 1979, item no. 245. "Hooker spent twelve years at Halesworth, during which he produced his British Jungermanniae, with his own illustrations, widely considered to be his most beautiful work. This book established hepaticology as an independent entity and made Hooker's reputation."… Read More

Kempten,: Verlag der Jos. Kösel'schen Buchhandlung, 1890.. [iv], [92], [vi] pp. Small 4to. Contemporary half chagrin, spine gilt lettered. With 61 plant portraits on 41 coloured plates. A fine atlas of medicinal plants in coloured colllotype, based on early color photograph of plants. A technique rarely applied. See Nissen, BBI, 1 252 ff. The text for the foreign platns was supplied by author's brother, Max, the director of the botanical garden at München. -- (Cancelled library stamp on title and preface; lower corner of title very slightly damaged).

New York: Robert M McBride & Company, 1926. First Edition, First Printing 1st Printing. Green Cloth, Gilt. Near Fine/No DJ. Xiv, 326 Pp. " First Published , May 1926". Color Frontispiece Photograph By Harold A. Parker; B/W Plates By Saunders. Traces Of Wear, Spine And Cover Gilt Brilliant. Inscribed "Harriet W. Culin With Love From Her Brother Charles Francis Saunders April 28, 1926", And With Saunders Bookplate [And Some Areas Of Glue Stains On And Around It]. . A Very Nice Example, With An Excellent Associational Inscription. Charles Francis Saunders (1859-1941) Was Born To Quaker Parents In Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He And His First Wife, Elisabeth Hallowell Saunders (D. 1910), Were Both Avid Naturalists; Charles Began Publishing Essays On Botany As Early As The 1890S. Charles And Elisabeth Also Collaborated On A Number Of Publications, He As Author, She As Illustrator. After A Honeymoon Trip To California And The Southwest In 1902, The Couple Moved Permanently To… Read More

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2000. NEW. Four volumes, illustrated with 32 colour plates and many full page line drawings, pp x, 1623, pictorial soft covers avery good set. Published at £220.00. [Produced in four volumes this work contains a comprehensive listing of all Euphorbiaceae and Pandaceae. Laid out alphabetically by genera, it is a vital reference to botanists, students, collectors and growers. It draws attention to current systematic knowledge and research, synonyms, life forms and distribution, providing useful information on cultivation and care. Liberally illustrated with line drawings and 32 pages of colour plates.]. First Edition. Soft Cover. New.

London: Hamilton, Adams & Co, 1839. Small slim 12mo, pp (2), 124, a hand-coloured frontispiece map, pages age-toned but otherwise very clean and sound, a little browning to the frontispiece and title page, with the book label of Baronet Bron=mhead of Thurlby Hall on the front endpaper, original green polished cloth with gilt decoration on upper cover showing an ornate vase of flowers, slight marks and bumps, the spine label appears to have been hand-written on paper but is now largely lacking. RARE, AND A VERY GOOD COPY. [Godfrey Howitt - 1800-1873 - was physician to the Nottingham General Hospital from 1829 to 1839 and was keenly interested in science and literature. He wrote this standard work The Flora of Nottinghamshire, and discovered a new species of catchfly which grew on the Castle Rock. Professor John Wilson ("Christopher North," of Edinburgh) made the "Ettrick Shepherd" in Blackwoods Magazine described his as "Ane o' the best botanists in England an' a… Read More

Paris: Chez l'Auteur, Rue de Buffon, 1855. First edition. Octavo, pp xvi, 656, lightly marbled edges, extremely clean and bright internally, neatly bound in later green cloth. With the bookplate of Kenneth Lazenby, a founding member of the Alpine Garden Society. A superb copy. [Carrière (1818 - 1896) was a French botanist, based in Paris. He was a leading authority on conifers in the period 1850 to 1870, describing many new species, and the new genera Tsuga, Keteleeria and Pseudotsuga. This was his most important work.]. First Edition. Cloth. Fine.

Zambia: Lari Merrett, 2020. Two volumes, very well illustrated, large octavo, pp 1020, paperback, corners or spine slightly bumped and bruised in transit, but otherwise a good new set, in an edition of 1000 copies. A heavy set, weighing over 2.5 kilos before packing - extra postage may be necessary. [This amazing flora is a compilation of photographs, collections and expertise, gathered over the past 25 years, which describes the miombo woodland and the threats it is facing. It contains descriptions of 143 families, 611 genera, and 1634 species found in the Mutinindo Wilderness Area of Northern Zambia. In addition to the descriptions of the ferns and monocots part I includes a detailed introduction by Dr Paul Smith of the Botanic Garden Conservation Institute, an inspirationally charged foreword by Noah Zimba of the Zambian Institute of Forestry, a comprehensive introduction to Mutinondo Wilderness and its botanical background, and a 51 page photographic key. Part 2 contains the descriptions of… Read More

Bungay: C. Brightly and T. Kinnersley, 1808. 1808 FAMILY HERBAL BY ENGLISH PHYSICIAN BOTANIST WITH 54 FINE HAND-COLORED ENGRAVINGS OF PLANTS. 8 1/4 inches tall hardcover, 3/4 calf binding with marbled boards, gilt lines to spine, gilt black leather title to spine, signature of Rd Clatterbuck, Colchester on front paste-down, Partial ink inscribed list of contents on front endpaper, title page with no date, but plate facing page 137 engraved, "Publd. by Brightly Bungay 1808", xl, 376 pp, 54 finely colored engraved plates containing multiple plants. Corners bumped, wear to covers, light foxing to first and last pages, binding tight, text unmarked, scattered pressed flowers inserted between pages, overall very good. In custom archival mylar cover. JOHN HILL (1714 – 1775), called because of his Swedish honors, "Sir" John Hill, was an English author and botanist. He was apprenticed to an apothecary and on the completion of his apprenticeship he set up in a small shop in St Martin's Lane, Westminster. He… Read More

NEAR FINE hardcover Solid red leather binding with gilt lettering. As new except and unmarked except for faintest bump to bottom corner, fainted red marking to the top edge of the textblock, and owner's name inside front cover. Nonfiction. Forestry. Wood Processing. 722 indexed, annotated pages including a Glossary and full of charts, graphs and illustrations. 6.5 " X 9.25" X 1.75". The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 is the Formation, Anatomy, and Properties of wood which covers the cellular make up of wood with a focus on the cellular make up of woody cells. It also covers defects in wood due to variability within a species, growth abnormalities, and defects during the harvesting, seasoning, and machining processes. Includes information on long term durability of wood and effects of staining. Part two is a key for identifying wood by species or by fiber if the species origin was unknown, along with detailed decriptions of the properties of wood produced by each… Read More

Edinburgh and London: William Creech; T. Cadell jnr & W. Davies, J. Scratcherd, and T. Hurst, 1802. Third edition, "with large editions". Illustrated with 6 engraved plates, (very foxed and browned), octavo, pp xvi, 427, (i), marbled edges, some sporadic foxing and browning thoughout (heavier on a few pages) but otherwise very firm and tight, contemporary half calf and marbled boards, rubbed and a little worn. VERY SCARCE. [Walter Nicol (1769 - 1811) was a Scottish garden and hothouse designer, who wrote several books on practical horticulture. He was born in Niddrie. He was employed at a number of estates in Scotland and improved the design and layout of gardens and glasshouses. Nicol is in particular responsible for the walled garden layout at Dalhousie Castle in Midlothian."His works, which were of a very high standard, became exceedingly popular" - Blanche Henrey 1182.]. Third edition. Half-Leather. Good.

University of California, 1932. Paperback. Very good. 1932 University of California Botany Notebook by a student of Richard Holman, head of Botany at UC Berkeley and co-author of the influential 'Textbook of General Botany' (with Wilfred Robbins, 1924). 39 labeled plates: Plant Cell (5), Plant (2), Plant Tissues (6), Stem (4), Root (2), Leaf (4), Flower (7), Fruit (3), Seed (6). Approx. 20 sheets of notes on seed experiments, some with application to agricultural practices. Graphite drawings on thick card stock in UC branded cover, fastened with brads. A few grading marks on the written notes, drawings remain clean and crisp, very fine work. See: 'Botany at Berkeley: The First Hundred Years' by Lincoln Constance, 1978. https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/history/botanyatberkeley/

New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1975. Nearly 2,700 illustrations from woodcuts, large thick quarto, pp (38), 1632, (46), slight foxing to the fore and other edges, otherwise clean internally, the fore-edge is convex due to the weight of the book and the spine conversely concave, otherwise a good cloth-bound copy, in a slightly worn and torn dustwrapper which is faded on its spine. [Very heavy - extra postage may be needed.]. Cloth. Very Good/A little worn and frayed.

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… Read More

A very good run of the first five volumes from the New Series of this very rare botanical.

Complete with 240 handcoloured botanical plates by Worthington George Smith (212) and Frederick William Burbidge (28)

Flowers include many species of elegant orchids, roses, camellias, dahlias, hyacinths, rhododendrons, pansies, geraniums, and many other popular Victorian garden flowers.

Bernard Quaritch in a General Catalogue of Books in 1874 praises the series for its "beautifully coloured plates" and notes it was already "very scarce."

Five volumes edited by Henry Honywood Dombrain (1,2), Worthington George Smith (3,4) and Frederick William Burbidge (5), published from 1872 to 1876. (Volumes 11 to 15 in the complete series).

The Floral Magazine launched in 1861 and introduced exotic flowers from tropical lands as well as hybrids raised in British nurseries. The lithographic plates were dynamic, full-page botanical illustrations in large format Royal or Imperial Octavo size. Unlike the French and… Read More