Andrews, Henry C.

Half-title to vol. 4. Illustration: 288 handcolored engraved plates by and after Andrews, printed in green or black, some heightened with gum Arabic. 

4 volumes, folio (16 1/8 x 10 1/4 in.; 410 x 260 mm) Binding: Contemporary diced Russia, covers gilt-ruled and blind-rolled, spines gilt in six compartments, marbled edges (vol. 4 slightly disparate because of its delayed completion).  Provenance: John Amory Lowell (bookplate). 



Occasional minor foxing, primarily to text, some plates lightly toned, bound without the engraved dedication to the Marquis of Blandford or the one-leaf letterpress introduction. Some wear and rubbing to bindings, rebacked, original spines laid down. 

Blunt, p. 210; De Belder sale 5; Dunthorne 9; Great Flower Books, p. 69; Nissen 31; Plesch sale 13; Pritzel 174; Stafleu & Cowan TL2 134.

Occasional minor foxing, primarily to text, some plates lightly toned, bound without the engraved dedication to the Marquis of Blandford or the one-leaf letterpress introduction. Some wear and rubbing to bindings, rebacked, original spines laid down.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

First edition of this spectacular monograph on the heathers: a work that Blunt considered to be Andrews "finest achievement … noble in conception and impressive in execution." The present set includes the fourth volume published sporadically between 1810 and 1830, which is rarely found complete. 

The work was very much the achievement of one man: Andrews not only drew and engraved all the plates "from living plants only," but also wrote most of the text, and according to Dunthorne, also colored the plates himself. The four-volume set was originally issued in parts between 1794 and 1830, a period when interest in "ericas" was at its height, stimulated by the apparently endless stream of plants being discovered and shipped back from South Africa, and nurserymen specialized in cultivating the new arrivals. At the height of "ericamania" large numbers of different varieties were available: in the list bound at the back of volume one, Andrews records that 228 varieties were under cultivation by Messrs. Lee and Kennedy of Hammersmith in 1802.

The first three volumes of the present set were apparently bound up shortly after the completion of the third volume in 1809, and the watermark date of "1829" on the endpapers of the final volume show that it was bound to match shortly after the completion of the work in 1830. Various peripheral leaves can be found in this work, but most sets are without one or more of these leaves—the present set includes the four "systematical arrangements" that were missing from the Plesch copy.