Warner, Robert, Benjamin Samuel Williams, and Thomas Moore | A striking nineteenth-century record of orchids

Warner, Robert, Benjamin Samuel Williams, and Thomas Moore

The Orchid Album, Comprising Coloured Figures and Descriptions of New, Rare, and Beautiful Orchidaceous Plants. London: B.S. Williams, 1882-1897

11 vols, 4to (306 x 241 mm). Half-titles, title-pages, 528 (on 527) lithographed plates by and after John Nugent Fitch, partly hand-colored, partly color-printed, plates 9/10 constitute one folding plate, engraved portrait of Benjamin Samuel Williams and obituary in ninth volume, tissue guards in first volume and paper guards in the others; mild foxing throughout, a few plates browned, offsetting onto guards, repaired tear to paper guard in fourth volume, plate of an orchid from a different work loosely inserted in eleventh volume, two glassine leaves with printed illustration and text for the Florida Orchid Society Award in 1954 loosely inserted. In full dark green morocco, spine with raised bands in six compartments, second and fourth compartments lettered in gilt, others with repeat gilt floral motif, boards ornately ruled in gilt, board edges gilt, inside dentelles gilt, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers; occasional light rubbing to extremities and spine bands, occasional spots to edges.

A beautiful complete set of this important record of all the greatest orchid varieties, discovered and described during the nineteenth century, with exquisite illustrations of the highest quality by John Nugent Fitch. The obituary of Benjamin Samuel Williams in volume 9 states, “In 1881 he commenced his magnum opus, the Orchid Album, which as projected with the idea of supplying a demand for illustrations of orchidaceous plants, with botanical descriptions of the plants figured, and notes on their cultivation … its appearance was hailed with great satisfaction in horticultural circles throughout the world, and it numbers amongst its subscribers nearly all lovers of orchids and many of our leading and most influential horticulturalists”.

REFERENCE:

Great Flower Books, p.80; Nissen BBI 2107; Stafleu TL2 6282

PROVENANCE:

Robert Meehan Scully (bookplates to integral blanks)