James Edward Smith | [Icones pictae plantarum rariorum, London, 1790-93], contemporary brown half calf

James Edward Smith

Icones pictae plantarum rariorum, descriptionibus et observationibus illustratae. London: J. Davis, 1790-1793

FIRST EDITION, folio (469 x 300mm.), dedications in Latin and English to the Marchioness of Rockingham, 18 hand-coloured engraved plates of flowering plants by James Sowerby, without title as issued, text in Latin and English, contemporary brown half calf, some light spotting, upper joint starting to split, extremities slightly rubbed

This very rare work was issued in three parts without a title-page.

James Edward Smith (1759-1828), was an English botanist, and founder of the Linnaean Society. Smith bought Carl Linnaeus' entire collection of books, manuscripts and specimens, for £1,000, and established the Linnaean Society in 1788 after his grand tour, during which he visited numerous notable botanists and their collections. His own collection, supplemented by Linnaeus', became a famous destination for European botanists in its own right. He published numerous articles and books on the subject of botany, some of the most notable of which were in collaboration with James Sowerby.

LITERATURE:

Dunthorne 284; Great Flower Books, p. 76; Henrey 1345; Hunt 715; Nissen BBI 1859; Stafleu TL2 12.222

PROVENANCE:

Bought from Raphael King, 1943