RAVENSCROFT, E. J.
Edinburgh and London, W. Blackwood & Son, (1863)-1884. 3 volumes. Folio (555 x 417mm). pp. (6), errata leaf, 1-110; (2), 111-216; (2), 217-330 with 48 hand-coloured lithographed plates, 4 mounted albumen prints, 1 engraved map, and 643 wood-cuts. Contemporary red half morocco. First edition of one of the greatest British works on Pines. 'The Pinetum Britannicum' is regarded as a landmark publication on conifers, and both Napoleon III and Queen Victoria subscribed to its first edition. This wonderful, illustrated work was the result of over twenty years of collaboration and research. The tree portraits in colour are predominantly from the original drawings of William Richardson, those of cones and leaves by Dr Greville and James and Robert Black, and the characteristic sketches of the Deodar Cedars in vol. 3 were captured 'in the field' by Lady Canning during her time in India.The extensive woodcut illustrations throughout the text were also executed by multiple hands; Andrew Murray, James M'Nab, Dr Greville and Dr Maxwell T Masters. Meanwhile, leading conifer specialists of the day, from institutions such as the British Museum, Royal Horticultural Society and Royal Botanical Gardens, as well as individual professors from Florence, Berlin and Paris, and several private experts, all contributed to enhance the publication.On its commencement in 1863, the project received immediate royal support; Queen Victoria requested the work be dedicated to the memory of the recently deceased Prince Albert and provided photographs of two specimens at Osborne House for inclusion, while Emperor Napoleon III secured thirty copies for distribution among French schools of Forestry and Agriculture. One of the greatest coniferous iconographies of the nineteenth century. A fine copy.Nissen BBI 1588; Great Flower Books p. 71; Stafleu-Cowan TL2 8685
MARIOTTE, E.
Leide, Pierre Van Der Aa, 1717. 2 volumes (bound in one). 4to (240 x 190mm). pp. (12), 1-320; (4), 321-701, (35), with 2 engraved title vignettes and 26 folding engraved plates. Contemporary calf, spine reback with old spine laid down. First collected edition, containing all of Mariotte's published works. Edme Mariotte, his date of birth is unknown, died in 1684. 'Honored as the man who introduced experimental physics into France. Mariotte played a central role in the work of the Paris Academy of Sciences shortly after its formation in 1666. His detailed arguments from plant anatomy and a series of ingenious experiments failed to resolve the controversy completely, and only in the early 1670's did accumulated evidence provided by others vindicate his position As an active member of the Academy for over twenty-five years, Mariotte exerted influence over scientific colleagues both within and without that institution His work was known to the Royal Society and was cited by Newton in his 'Principia' (DSB, IX p. 114 & 120).His 'Oeuvres' contains the following contibutions: 1. Traité de la percussion ou choc des corps; 2. Essays de physique, pour servir à la science des choses naturelles; a. De la végétation des plantes; b. De la nature de l'air; c. Du chaud et du froid; d. De la nature des couleurs; 3. Traité du mouvement des eaux et des autres corps fluides; 4. Règles pour les jets d'eaux; 5. Lettres écrites par MM. Mariotte, Pecquet et Perrault sur le sujet d'une nouvelle découverte touchant la veüe par M. Mariotte; 6. Traité du nivellement, avec la description de quelques niveaux nouvellement inventez; 7. Traité du mouvement des pendules; 8. Expériences touchant les couleurs et la congélation de l'eau; 9. Essay de logique, contenant les principes des sciences et la manière de s'en servir pour faire des bon raisonnements.
GESSNER, C.
Frankfurt, Johan Wechel for Robert Cambieri, 1585. Folio (367 x 243mm). pp. (12), 806, (26, index). Woodcut on title, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces and 237 woodcuts of birds (including title), all coloured by a contemporary hand. Contemporary blindstamped pigskin over wooden boards bound at the H[ans] S[chreiber] bindery, front cover with central portrait panel of Johann Georg, Elector of Brandenburg (1525-1598) and the rear cover stamped with his arms, clasps lacking, some minor staining to covers. Johann Georg, Elector of Brandenburg's (1525-1598) copy of Gesner's splendid work on birds, coloured throughout by a contemporary hand. Second edition of Gesner's Ornithological Magnum Opus. All of the woodcuts in outstanding contemporary publisher's colouring, executed by a professional book illuminator; the palate is rich and varied, using a lot of body colour. Gesner in his preface states that a number of copies with hand-coloured woodcuts were issued 'for customers who are not deterred by the higher price'. Their number was very small indeed, and they scarcely ever appear on the market. There are worm holes throughout affecting text and images, but they do not affect the charm and quality of the engraving and splendid colouring of this copy.This was part of the greatest zoological encyclopedia of the sixteenth century and the greatest pictorial assembly of zoological illustration of its time. The woodcuts were cut after paintings by Lukas Schan, some of which survive as part of the Felix Patter collection in the Basle University Library. This suite of woodcuts contains the first naturalistic representations of the animal kingdom, and effectively heralds the birth of zoological book illustration. They are the archetypes of much subsequent bird illustrations, even into the eighteenth century.Conrad Gesner was one of the great polymaths of the Renaissance and his work 'is an encyclopedia of contemporary knowledge, intended to replace not only mediaeval compilations but even Aristotle's work' (PMM 77).Provenance:18th-century unidentified engraved armorial bookplate; Hallesche Naturforschende Gesellschaft (stamp on verso of title).Nissen IVB 349; Wellisch A25.2.
DUHAMEL DU MONCEAU, H.L.
Paris, H.L. Guerin & L.F. Delatour, 1760. 4to (270 x 210mm). pp. (4), lxxx, 383, (1), 27 (1), 10, with 17 folded engraved plates. Contemporary half calf, marbled sides (spine with somewhat unskilled repair). A large uncut copy of the first edition, complete with the 2 additions. "Duhamel's tree-planting on both his own estate and his brother's provided the practical experience behind his books as he explained in the preface to 'Semis et Plantations' . The sections of the book discuss the soil, the climate, and the choice of the trees; their propagation; nursery gardens; planting; forests, and maintenance and re-afforestation, with all instuments based firmly on the author's long experience of forestry" (S. Raphael. An Oak Spring Sylva p. 10).Provenance: On flyleaf handwritten inscription of former owner: J. de Selys, à la Bibliotèque du Chateau de la Libre et franche Baronnie de la terre souveraine de Sanson (1762).Nissen BBI, 545.
COTTA, H.
Weimar, in der Hoffmannischen Buchhandlung, 1806. 4to (265 x 215mm). pp. (2), xiv, (2), 96, (1), with engraved title vignette and 7 hand-coloured engraved plates. Contemporary wrappers, with printed title pasted on frontwrapper. A fine large uncut copy of this beautifully produced and early work on endosmose, the movement of the sap in the stem. Active research was being done in this field in Germany by vegetable physiologists between 1804 and 1840. The present work is 'in many respects an instructive work' (Sachs p. 509). Heinrich Cotta was the founder of the Tharandt Forestry Academy near Dresden and his son Carl Bernard became an important geologist. A very attractively illustrated monograph.Pritzel 4925.
SEITZ, A.
Stuttgart, Kernen Verlag, 1909-1954. 20 volumes (bound in 32). 4to (315 x 250mm). Text and 1458 chromolithographed plates. Publisher's uniform half calf (first 6 vols. publisher's half cloth), spines with gilt lettering and decorations. A complete and uniformly bound set of this rare work. The fine plates are made by process of 10-14 colour lithography, and its excellent quality has remained unsurpassed. The editor Seitz planned to finish the whole work in 1912. This proved to be quite unrealistic as publication stopped in 1954, and several volumes remained unfinished. The most important collections of butterflies were consulted including those of L.W. Rothschild of Tring, the British Museum, the Paris Natural History Museum, the Senckenberg Museum at Frankfurt, as well as collections in Tokyo, Hong-Kong, Australia, South- and North- America etc. The German edition is textually larger than the English one as it has the complete supplement of volume 4 (publ. in 1954), which remained unfinished in the English edition. The unfinished volumes 7 and 15 of the German edition also have more text. Apart from the 4th supplement-volume the same volumes remained unfinished as in the English edition. The work was published in 16 volumes with 4 supplements and is composed as follows: volumes 1-4, Palaearctic Fauna with 4 supplements; volumes 5-8, American Fauna (volumes 7 and 8 remained unfinished); volumes 9-12, Indo-Australian Fauna (volumes 11 and 12 remained unfinished); volumes 13-16 African Fauna (volumes 15 and 16 remained unfinished). A splendid set.The collation of the set is as follows:Palaearktische FaunaVol. I: Tagfalter. pp. 384 and 89 coloured plates.Vol. 2: Spinner und Schwärmer. pp. 480 and 56 coloured plates.Vol. 3: Eulen. pp. 520 and 75 coloured plates.Vol. 4: Spanner. pp. 480 and 25 coloured plates.Supplement zur palaearktischen FaunaSuppl. I. pp. 400 and 16 coloured plates.Suppl. 2. pp. 314 and 16 coloured plates.Suppl. 3. pp. 332 and 26 coloured plates.Suppl. 4. pp. 766 and 53 coloured plates.Amerikanische FaunaVol. 5. Tagfalter. pp. 1144 and 203 coloured plates.Vol. 6. Spinner und Schwärmer. pp. 1452 and 198 coloured plates.Vol. 7. Eulen. pp. 508 and 87 coloured plates.Vol. 8. Spanner. pp 136 and 16 coloured plates.Indo-australische FaunaVol. 9. Tagfalter. pp. 1200 and 177 coloured plates.Vol. 10. Spinner und Schwärmer. pp. 912 and 104 coloured plates.Vol. 11. Eulen. pp. 496 and 57 coloured plates.Vol. 12. Spanner. pp. 356 and 41 coloured plates.Afrikanische FaunaVol. 13. Tagfalter. p. 613 and 80 coloured plates.Vol. 14. Spinner und Schwärmer. pp. 600 and 80 coloured plates.Vol. 15. Eulen. pp. 358 and 41 coloured plates.Vol. 16. Spanner. pp. 160 and 18 coloured plates.
VENTENAT, E.P. & REDOUTÉ, P.J.
Paris, Crapelet, An XI (1803-1804) (-1805). 2 volumes. Folio (543 x 360mm). With 120 stipple-engraved plates by Redouté, printed in colours and finished by hand by J.B. Dien, P.F. Legrand, L.J. Allais and others. Contemporary red half calf, gilt ornamented spines with gilt lettering in 6 compartments. A fine copy containing Redouté's finest botanical illustrations. "The great opus of Redouté was now to come: the production of those sumptuous flower-books with colorplates of unsurpassed magnificence, 'Les Liliacées' and the 'Jardin de la Malmaison' the cost of such works was so great as to have been prohibitive an effective patronage was required. This patronage Redouté found in Josephine de Beauharnais Napoléon, still on his way to the stars, had married her in 1796 and two years later she acquired the charming property of Malmaison somewhat to northwest of Paris Her artistic and horticultural interest predisposed her to be attracted to Redouté In this way the garden at Malmaison soon became unique of its great choice of exotic flowers from both the temperate and subtropical regions. The enthusiastic and splendor-loving Joséphine wanted to have her garden adequately described and the plants beautifully portrayed. Etienne-Pierre Ventenat (1757-1808) was engaged to provide the descriptions, Redouté was to be the artist Napoléon, too, has an indirect role in this volume for Joséphine knew how to spend his money, and she spent it liberally" (Stafleu. Redouté- Peintre de Fleurs pp. 19-20).The work also has an Australian interest. "There were 18 new Australian plants, with 24 figured" (Mabberley. Botanical Revelation. European encounters with Australian plants before Darwin p. 162). Only 200 copies were printed. With old manuscript dedication to 'Madame et Monsieur de Saint Paul' by E.A. Baracque on half title.Great Flower Books p. 79, Dunthorne 255; MacPhail 12; Lack. Ein Garten Eden no. 49; Stafleu & Cowan 16007; See also Jill Duchess of Hamilton. Napoleon, the Empress & the Artist. The story of Napoleon, Josephine's Garden at Malmaison, Redouté & Australian plants.
VRIES, H. DE.
Versuche und Beobachtungen über die Entstehung von Arten im Pfanzenreich. Leipzig, Veith & Comp., 1901-1903. 2 volumes. Royal-8vo (335 x 165mm). pp. xii, 648, with 8 chromolithographed plates and 181 figures; pp. xiv, 752, with 4 chromolithographed plates and 159 figures. Publisher's half calf, gilt lettered spine, marbled boards (one head of spine a bit chipped). Garrison & Morton 240: "Mendel's fundamental work was overlooked until 1900, when de Vries and others brought it out into prominence and confirmed it in every respect. The theory of mutation was first advanced by de Vries ."; Grolier 73b; Singer 551. A clean copy of the scarce first edition.
WOLFFEN, C.
Halle, in der Rengerischen Buchhandlung, 1725. 4to. (208 x 165mm). pp. (10), 140, with an engraved frontispiece (together with:) WOLFFEN, C. Erläuterung der Entdeckung der wahren Ursach von der wunderbahren Vermehrung des Getreides. Frankfurt & Leipzig, in der Rengerischen Buchhandlung, 1730. 4to. pp. (8), 44. Contemporary mottled calf, richly gilt spine with gilt lettered label, in 6 compartments. "His various works on natural sciences. were full of matter and for his time very instructive" (Sachs p. 473). Paper a bit browned and tiny paper repair to title.Pritzel 10381 (quoting an edition of 1750) & 10382.
VRIES, H. DE.
's Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff, 1870. 8vo (222 x 145mm). pp. (8), 112, vi. Contemporary red cloth, spine with gilt lines, richly gilt decorated sides. (Together with:) VRIES, H. DE. De voeding der planten. Haarlem, Kruseman & Tjeen Willink, 1876. 8vo (235 x 155mm). pp. (4), 193, with 75 illustrations in the text. Contemporary half calf, gilt lettered spine and marbled boards. (foot of spine worn). (AND:) VRIES, H. DE. Het leven der bloem. Haarlem, Kruseman & Tjeenk Willink, 1877. 8vo (235 x 155mm). pp (6), 147, with 64 illustrations in the text. Contemporary half calf, gilt letterd spine and marbled boards. An attractively bound copy of the very rare thesis of this famous Dutch scientist. "De Vries's experimental work in the 1890's led to the rediscovery of Mendel's laws and the discovery of the phenomenon of mutation" (DSB, XIV p. 96). See also De Veer, Leven en werk van Hugo de Vries p. 12 'Dit proefschrift is waarschijnlijk de basis geweest voor het werk van de komende achttien jaar'. The other two works are first editions.
Gand, van Houtte, 1845-1880. 23 volumes. Royal-8vo (252 x 180mm). With over 2500, nearly all coloured plates. Contemporary brown half calf, spines with gilt lettering, marbled sides. A rare set, with all the plates, of this very fine illustrated work. The "Establishment Louis van Houtte" has been the largest nursery in existence not only in Belgium, but on the whole continent. It was famous for its splendid catalogues, issued by its own printing department. This beautiful periodical, appearing monthly for almost 40 years, was illustrated with chromolithographs, designed, printed and sometimes "rebouché au pinceau" in the large printing office situated in the middle of van Houtte's gardens. The man behind this enterprice, Louis van Houtte, ran the firm for about fifty years; after his death the business soon collapsed. In the relatively short time of about half a century in which colour printing from stone dominated the scene of botanical illustration (1800-1850) the Belgian lithographers reached the ultimate of craftmanship. The names of Severeyns, Stroobant and de Pannemaeker are justly famous. Stroobant was the printer of many of the illustrations of the first 10 volumes, he created his own establishment later on; de Pannemaeker painted and colourprinted more than three thousand flower- and fruit-illustrations for many periodicals and books, and was a landscape painter of some renown. He learned the trade under Stroobant's guidance and refined in several steps the process of chromolithography. The illustrations of the "Flore des Serres" depict flowers and plants for sale in the van Houtte's nursery; exotic plants figure extensively.There are 2481 numbered plates and some extra, mostly plain plates, without a number. The double-page plates have 2 numbers and some of the very large folding plates have 4 numbers, sothat the actual number of plates is less than 2500.Famous botanists contributed like Alex Bivort, Ad. Brongiart, Alph. de Candolle, J. Linden, E.A. Carrière, J. Decaisne, H.G. Reichenbach, J.E. Planchon, P.E. de Puydt, Herm. Wendland, H. Witte and Louis van Houtte. Some occasional foxing especially in the first volumes.Nissen BBI, 2254; Sitwell & Blunt p. 84; Stafleu & Cowan 15.921.
