Sowerby J E Smith J E (6 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Fair-Good. Sowerby, J. (illustrator). 1st Edition. Full leather, blind tooled and gilt titles. Lacks 1/2 of spine leather but spine titles still present. Boards lightly stained and well rubbed with worn corners and bottom edge. Joints cracked but firm. Rebacked in recent decades with plain green endpapers. No title page. Textblock crisp and clean with minimal foxing in general, however the first 2 pages have become detached though still present. 53 plates of Cryptogamia (Equisetum & Filices) with descriptions facing. Plates crisp and clean, each plate measuring 14.5x23.5cm. The order of contents follows that of the 1801 1st edition copy digitised by the Utah State University, however our copy only contains the Cryptogamia Equisetum & Filices, which are laid out as follows (with each number being the page of text opposite the plate): 1874, 2021-22, 929, 915, 1987, 108, 318, 209, 224, 1148, 239, 233, 1727, 234, 1149, 2224, 616, 1525, 797, 2024, 1018-19, 1458, 1562-3, 1459, 2199, 1460-1, 2125, 576, 2257, 392, 1017, 2258, 150, 1950, 240, 1150, 1244, 1159, 1679, 1160, 1564, 1587, 163, 1588, 2023, 1417, 162, 521, 1084. Binding Fair, contents Very Good; overall Good. Photos available on request. [1790 to 1814].

Bound in Card Cover. Condition: Near Fine. No Jacket. 1st Edition. The full set of 39 parts of the first and second supplement volumes (of the first edition of Sowerby's English Botany), all in original blue wrappers. The supplements have been bound into a two bespoke hardback boxes as seen. All are uncoloured apart from plate nos. 2593 to 2692 of which 12 hand-coloured. Each volume has over 100 finely engraved botanical plates. Two plates are folding and are partially finely hand coloured. All the original wrappers are near fine whist the wrapper of the very first issue is too small as issued. Contents clean and tight and unmarked with no foxing, inscriptions or significant marks. A near fine set of the first two supplements. See scans and email for more.

Hard Back. Condition: Good. Sowerby, J. (illustrator). 1st Edition. Contemporary quarter leather with gilt spine titles and marbled boards. 3 indexes + 72 descriptions with matching plates opposite, numbered 721-792, in numerical order. Attractively untrimmed page edges. Boards and leather worn all round, particularly at corners; marbled paper partially peeled away on rear board. Hinges split but holding firm. FFEP detached but present. Rear FEP half detached. Internally very crisp and clean with minimal foxing, with the plates looking lovely. Binding Fair, contents Very Good, overall Good. Photos available on request.

Cloth. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. [1831 - 1849]. Four volumes, octavo, illustrated with approximately 366 hand coloured plates, four of which are folding, generally in very good condition, occasionally printed on slightly duller paper, recently bound in a plain but qood quality brown cloth, slight markings to the upper cover of one volume. Volume I - plates 2593 - 2692, extremely clean and bright. Volume II - plates 2693 - 2796, the first ten plates and text have faint fold markings, otherwise very clean and bright. Volume III - plates 2798 - 2866 (lacking 2797?), one plate with a paper crease, probably a production fault. Volume IV - is where it gets complicated. The plates and text are now bound, more or less, in systematic order - 2886, 2908, 2951, 2918, 2916, 2955, 2943, 2922, 2898, 2944, 2928, 2917, 2906, 2934, 2905, 2903, 2952, 2900, 2935, 2903, 2909, 2892, 2893, 2891, 2890, 2895, 2887, 2968, 2870, 2930, 2946, 2914, 2897, 2958, 2875, 2953, 2876, 2877, 2904, 2950, 2868, 2949, 2960, 2945, 2929, 2915, 2884, 2931, 2896, 2910, 2885, 2923, 2895, 2924, 2880, 2932, 2901, 2887, 2919, 2888, 2936, 2878, 2871, 2942, 2907, 2925, 2947, 2873, 2874, 2957, 2902, 2872, 2921, 2912, 2882, 2881, 2938, 2937, 2889, 2894, 2948, 2913, 2879, 2889, 2911, 2940, 2920, 2959, 2941, 2954, 2926, 2927, 2958, 2939, 2933. [lacking 2883 & 2940 ?]. The paper in this last volume is of poorer quality, with a little age-toning, occasional scattered light blemishes or foxing. RARE. A further volume was published in 1863, but is not present here, but all volumes are exceedingly scarce. A vital addition to the first edition of English Botany, but rarely to be found. In the advertisement to Volume I it explains that the death of Sowerby in 1822, and Smith in 1828, delayed any possibility of the publication of these new discoveries. However Sowerby's two sons were now embarking on this venture, which they originally thought would be complete in two volumes. Latterly, the descriptions were completed by eminent botanists such as C.C. Babington, William Borer, M.J. Berkeley and William Wilson.

Twelve volume set with 2,754 fine hand coloured copper engraved plates. Each vol. with seperate Latin and English plant names as published. 8vo. Hardback. Contents very clean with only very occ. quite minor spotting, a little more so to the text sections of two vols. Contemporary cloth binding, internally very sound, externally showing rubbing and some wear, more so to five of the twelve vols. A magnificent work. '"English Botany" is of value even to the present day as a work of reference, and as an illustrated flora of our country it has never been surpassed.' (Henrey).

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Twelve volume set with 1938 hand-coloured plates. Collated and complete. Small 4to. Hardback. Ex-lib. TEG. Neat repair to blank margin of two text leaves, very minor spotting, o/w. contents very clean and nr. fine. Contemporary half morocco over green cloth with gilt lettering and decoration to spines. More recent end-papers and internal hinges neatly strengthened. Bindings showing some rubbing and shelf wear, still very sound and vg. to thor. vg.