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ANDERSON, Frank J.; A Treasury of Flowers; Rare Illustrations from the Collection of the New York Botanical Garden. Boston, Toronto, London, Little, Brown and Company, 1990, First Edition, folio [36.5 x 26 cm]; 175 pp, 80 fine color plates of flowers and fruits, index, original cloth, gilt spine title lettering, dj (not price clipped), a corner lightly bumped, else near fine, clean and unmarked.
Exquisite reproductions from the golden age of botanical art, from the 17th and 18th centuries, with interesting description and biographic details. The artists include Ehret, Redoute, Catesby, Knorr, Curtis, Bauer, etc, each with five plates taken from their finest works. Anderson was curator of Rare Books at the New York Botanical Garden. Not to be confused with the author's other book, An Illustrated Treasury of Cultivated Flowers, published in 1979, with different content and plates.
US$26. bookID # 13833
ANDREWS, Jean, foreword by Ghillean T. Prance, introduction by E. Arthur Bell; American Wildflower Florilegium. Denton, University of North Texas Press, [1992], First edition, 4to [30.5 x 23 cm]; 127 pp, 52 fine color plates, index, original cloth, dj, fine.
Attractive botanical art from the artist's original guache and color pencil drawings, each accompanied by a description, history, origin and references of early works.
US$14. bookID # 6475
COATS, Alice M.; The Treasury of Flowers. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, [1975], First American edition, small 4to [24 x 17 cm]; unpaginated, 118 plates including 33 in color, bibliography, index of persons, index of plants, original cloth, gilt spine title lettering, dj (slightly used with short tear on rear panel, not price clipped), fine and clean in very good jacket.
The author, a leading authority of the history of plants, selected the illustrations from old printed books, periodicals and in some cases from unpublished works, from botanical art that was done from the late fifteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. Complementary to her previous, The Book of Flowers, with illustrations from early folios, this book concentrates on works done on a smaller scale, but still finely done, and well-presented with numerous illustrations from original sources.
US$2. bookID # 13840
COATS, Alice M.; The Treasury of Flowers. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, [1975], First American edition, small 4to [24 x 17 cm]; unpaginated, 118 plates including 33 in color, bibliography, index of persons, index of plants, original cloth, gilt spine title lettering, dj (slightly used, not price clipped), fine and clean in very good+ dust jacket.
The author, a leading authority of the history of plants, selected the illustrations from old printed books, periodicals and in some cases from unpublished works, from botanical art that was done from the late fifteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. Complementary to her previous, The Book of Flowers, with illustrations from early folios, this book concentrates on works done on a smaller scale, but still finely done, and well-presented with numerous illustrations from original sources.
US$2. bookID # 13839
COTTESLOE, Gloria, Doris Hunt, foreword by the Duke of Beaufort; The Duchess of Beaufort's Flowers. Exeter, England, Webb & Bower, [1983], First edition, 4to [28.5 x 23 cm]; 32 fine colored plates including frontis, from orig sources, 2 pages reproduced from old catalogues, bibliog, original cloth, dj (spine lightly faded), fine and clean.
A fine study of flower paintings originally commissioned by the first Duches of Beaufort in the early eighteenth century, done by Everhardus Kychicus and Daniel Frankcom.
US$2. bookID # 10838
DESMOND, Ray; Great Natural History Books and their Creators. London, The British Library and Oak Knoll Press, [2003], First edition, 4to [29.5 x 22 cm]; 176 pp, pictorial colored title page, numerous illustrations, mostly in color, reproduced from the original copies in the British Library & elsewhere, bibliography, index, original green cloth, gilt spine title lettering, dj, very fine, clean, unmarked and unused.
The former chief librarian at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, winner of natural history awards, and author of many natural history books, describes the great books by Audubon, Thornton, Sibthorp, Besler, etc, beautifully illustrated and well-written.
US$9. bookID # 13725
GRIGSON, Geoffrey, with bibliographical notes by Handasyde Buchanan; Thornton's Temple of Flora. London, Collins, 1951, , folio [43 x 31 cm]; viii, 20 pp, 12 fine color plates, 24 monochrome collotype plates, all with tissue guards, orig cloth-backed boards, leather spine labels with gilt letters, orig printed paper title label on front cover, lower cover lightly soiled, dj with orig mounted color plate, dj (worn, old tape repair, large chip), slightly foxed, near fine in good dj.
Robert Thornton's Temple of Flora was first published in 1807 and is the most famous and impressive flower book of the period. The introduction gives the story of the book and an historical perspective. There are detailed notes about each plate. There are botanical notes by William T. Stearn. This is the best edition since the original of 1807, finely and carefully produced, being much larger than the 1972 edition, with finer plates. The jacket, although quite worn with 5 by 9 cm chip, is often lacking.
US$190. bookID # 6460
LAMBOURNE, Maureen; The Art of Bird Illustration. [New Jersey], Wellfleet Press, [1990], First American Edition, sm folio [33.5 x 24 cm]; 192 pp, color frontis, profusion of plates and illus, mainly color, bibliog, index, original cloth, gilt spine title lettering, dj (short closed tear at edge), fine, quite clean and unmarked.
Excellent survey of bird art with numerous color illustrations from all of the classic illustrators, from the earliest to those of the twentieth century, and the author's assessments of the contributions of each artist, the development of techniques, new scientific insights, a chapter on the 20th century and an appendix on print collecting.
US$15. bookID # 10666
MABEY, Richard; The Flowers of Kew; 350 Years of Flower Paintings from the Royal Botanic Gardens. New York, Atheneum, 1989, First American Edition, 4to [27 x 20 cm]; xv, 208 pp, numerous illustrations in color including full-page, bibliog, index, original cloth with gilt spine title lettering, dj (not clipped), small dent at lower edge of cover, else fine.
Covers the resident artists, explorer painters, insider amateurs and official Illustrators who have made Kew Gardens renowned throughout the world.
US$9. bookID # 8512
MABEY, Richard; The Flowers of May. London, Collins & Brown, [1990], First edition, 4to [28.5 x 22 cm]; 15 pp, colored frontis, 84 fine botanical color plates, each with description on opposite page, other illus, maps, original cloth, gilt spine title lettering, dj (not price clipped), fine and clean, unmarked.
Caroline May was a botanical artist, born in 1809, died 1874, did over 1,000 botanical paintings, previously unpublished. The paintings are attractive and graceful. A biographical sketch and other introductory material is included.
US$5. bookID # 13198
ROBSON, Eve and Norman Robson; Botanical Prints; Classic Natural History Prints. [London], Collins & Brown, 1991, First edition, folio [36 x 25 cm]; 128 pp, 60 color plates from paintings, other illus, index, original cloth, gilt spine title lettering, dj (not price clipped), fine and clean, unmarked.
Includes some of the finest botanical art from the last few centuries including Ehret, Bauer, Redoute, Thornton, Brookshaw, Catesby, Hooker and many others, each with a good description and an introduction to the art. An impressive production with stunning botanical prints. (There was also a smaller paperback version with only 40 plates)
US$45. bookID # 12778
STEARN, William T.; Botanical Masters; Plant Portraits by Contemporary Artists. New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Prentice Hall Editions, [1990], First edition, 4to [29 x 22 cm]; 160 pp, 56 fine color plates, other illustrations in text, bibliog, brief biographies of artist, index of plants, original cloth, gilt lettering on spine, dj (tear on front panel repaired, not price clipped), fine in good jacket.
Published in Britain as 'Flower Artists of Kew', the respected and renowned author, gives a good introduction, as well as a description for each plate, and demonstrates that the botanical artists of today can compete with the best artists of the past. Includes artists such as Margaret Mee, Mary Grierson, Ann Farrer, Valerie Price, Margaret Stones, etc, and with descriptions of the great earlier artists such as William Jackson Hooker, Walter Hood Fitch, Redoute, etc, Kew Gardens, early engraving and woodcut illustrations, and other topics.
US$5. bookID # 13085
THOMAS, Graham Stuart; The Complete Flower Paintings & Drawings of Graham Stuart Thomas, With an Essay and Notes by the Artist. London, Thames and Hudson, [1987], First edition, first printing, 4to [31.5 x 26 cm]; xxiv, 184 pp, frontis, 57 fine color plates from paintings, 170 illustrations, map of hardiness zones for Canada and USA, original cloth, gilt cover design, gilt spine title lettering, pictorial endpapers, dj (not clipped), fine, clean, unmarked.
Stuart, one of the most influential gardeners of the twentieth century, winner of numerous awards including an O. B. E., as well as a talented artist who paints from in-depth knowledge of the plants, here presents his excellent paintings especially of perennials, shrubs, roses and other flowers. The appendices list his principal works, the plants he introduced or promoted, his writings and illustrations, books, journals, hardiness zones in the US and Canada for the plants he illustrated, etc. There is also an essay, "An American Perspective on the Artist's Work" by James J. White and the author's essay on flowers and flower painting. A most attractive large format production.
US$22. bookID # 13382
WALDEN, Beryl M. (paintings), Shiu Ying Hu (text), foreword by Noel Maclehose; Wild Flowers of Hong Kong Around the Year; Paintings of 255 Flowering Plants from Living Specimens. Hong Kong, Sino-American Publishing Company, 1977, First Edition, 4to [27 x 22 cm]; 83 pp, colored frontis, 83 color plates, glossary, lists of flowers by month, index, text in English but Introduction also in Chinese, names of plants in English and Chinese, original cloth, gilt lettering, dj (slight crease), light stains on few pages, very good.
This is the first comprehensive collection of paintings of Hong Kong flowering plants. The paintings are arranged by season and are most attractive. It dispels the myth that Hong Kong is only an urban area.
US$15. bookID # 3854
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