1866 New Cyclopaedia of Botany and Complete Book of Herbs

In very good condition, and with numerous delightful hand-coloured illustrations, here is an antique copy of: The Cyclopaedia of Botany and Complete Book of Herbs Forming a History and Description of All Plants British and Foreign That Are Useful to Man. By Richard Brook. In two volumes. Undated, but previous research dates the book at 1866. Across the two volumes in total there are 94 superb, detailed hand-coloured plates. Condition in detail below. The text emphasizes the practical utility of British and foreign plants, detailing how they can be used to treat common ailments at home. Includes an introduction on creating a hortus siccus (a dried herbarium), guidelines for gathering and preserving herbs, a glossary of botanical terms, and a comprehensive index of diseases and remedies. Unlike many works of the era that simply copied older classics like Culpeper, Brook's work contains unique material based on his own fieldwork and contemporary observations. Inside the pages are clean and tightly bound. No inscriptions or bookplates, but there is the very occasional notation in the text. (Also, I have kept in the previous owners short notes at the beginning of Volume I as they look to be useful for classifying/cataloguing - see photos). The colour plates are all in top, bright condition. The closed top edges have a little toning. Both volumes are very firmly bound in black leather, with grey cloth to the panels. The black leather has some rubbing on the extremities. Some creasing and rubbing also to the spines. Gilt bands and gilt titles. A little rubbing to the grey cloth, but overall very smart. H 20 cm x W 14 cm, 727 pages plus indices, 1.3 kg. You can follow my news and updates on Instagram @bumperboxofdelights.…