TRATTINICK. NEUE ARTEN VON PELARGONIEN.1825-1843

FIRST EDITION, 6 volumes, 8vo (235 x 146mm.), 264 hand-coloured engraved plates on 203 leaves, contemporary marbled boards, yellow edges

Dunthorne 308; Great Flower Books, p.78; Nissen BBI 1991; Stafleu TL2 14.889

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A FINE, FRESH COPY, WITH AN UNRECORDED PLATE, OF ONE OF TRATTINNICK'S RAREST WORKS, devoted to species and varieties of pelargoniums, and intended as a supplement to Robert Sweet's Geraniaceae. The plates were engraved after drawings by Blaschek. The newly-discovered wealth of pelargoniums from South Africa created something of a craze for their cultivation at the beginning of the nineteenth century, as evidenced by the works of Andrews, Sweet, and the above. Stafleu (and others) state that plate 197 and its accompanying text leaf were not published, but it is present here. It is lithographed, rather than engraved, and it and its accompanying text leaf have been tipped in at the appropriate place. It was probably issued in very small numbers as a supplement after the main volume was published, hence its absence in most copies. ABPC records only one other copy - the De Belder copy - at auction.