ANDREWS, Henry C

[Hand-Colored Plates] THE BOTANIST'S REPOSITORY, FOR NEW, AND RARE PLANTS. CONTAINING COLOURED FIGURES OF SUCH PLANTS, AS HAVE NOT HITHERTO APPEARED IN ANY SIMILAR PUBLICATION...

[London]: [T. Bensley for the author], [1803-1815]. First Edition. Hardcover. Six (of 10) large quarto (8-5/8" x 11-1/8") volumes bound in half brown morocco with marbled boards and matching morocco corners, gilt-lettered spines; marbled endpapers. Volumes 5 - 10 of a ten-volume set. The letterpress title page giving publication information is usually found only in the first volume and is not present here, but all engraved title pages in each of the 6 volumes here are present as are the indices at the end of each volume. Illustrated with 375 engraved plates, some printed in colors and all lushly hand-colored, of which 60 are folding or double. The complete set had 664 plates with 64 folding/double, so nearly all of the folding/double plates are in these volumes. Started as a rival to Curtis's THE BOTANICAL MAGAZINE, this magazine featured more new plants than its rival and larger and generally better quality plates. It also differed in making a contribution of lasting importance to the literature of botany and horticulture by providing records and means of identification of a great diversity of beautiful and interesting plants, many of them new to science. The text of the fifth volume is by John Kennedy (the author's father-in-law), the sixth volume by A. H. Haworth, and the last four volumes by George Jackson. DUNTHORNE 8: "A fine and interesting work of distinct individuality and character"; GREAT FLOWER BOOKS, page 83; NISSEN 2382; PRITZEL 474. Truly magnificent hand-colored plates and quite scarce. Fairly large copy in comparison to others sold in the recent past. Occasional minor foxing, toning, or off-setting; some light pencil notes/corrections to some leaves. In all, rather clean and attractive examples of these volumes with the plates generally bright and vivid with offsetting to text. Rubbing and light scuffs to bindings. Near Fine. Item #020180

A beautifully illustrated and important horticulture title providing records and means of identification of a great diversity of beautiful and interesting plants, many of them from Australia and South Africa and many new to science.

Price: $12,500.00