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Published by London, John Miller 1770., 1770
44 x 29,5 cm (Abb.), 52 x 35 cm (Blatt). Ränder etwas gebräunt u. links ca. 1 cm eingerissen. Unter Passepartout montiert. Nissen BBI 1372.
Published by London, John Miller 1771., 1771
44 x 29,5 cm (Abb.), 52 x 35 cm (Blatt). Ränder etwas fleckig u. etwas gebräunt. Unter Passepartout montiert. Nissen BBI 1372.
Condition: 0. Nissen BBI 1372; Great Flower Books 68.- Goldgeprägtes, rotes Leder-Exlibris des berühmten Botanik-Sammlers Arpad Pesch auf vorderem Spiegel.- Ungewöhnlich exaktes botanisches Werk nach den Prinzipien der von Linné entworfenen Methode der binominalen Nomenklatur, mit den schönen Kupfertafeln von und nach Miller (d.i. J.A. Müller aus Nürnberg), welche Linné selbst als die schönsten und genauesten Darstellungen bezeichnete, die er je gesehen habe.- Es fehlen vor allem einheimische Pflanzen wie Roßkastanie, Walnuss, Akelei, Rhabarber, Eisenhut, Löwenzahn - von einigen ist das unkolorierte Pendant vorhanden.- Innengelenke angeplatzt, 1 Tafel im Fußsteg gelockert, 4 Textblätter etwas stockfleckig, sonst dank der zwischengebundenen Schutzblätter in schönem Zustand, nur gelegentlich minimal gebräunt. Sprache: Deutsch Gewicht in Gramm: 500.
Published by London: published and sold by the Author, (-) . First edition., 1770
Seller: Natural History Books, Iowa City, IA, U.S.A.
"Pp. (120), engraved emblematic frontispiece, engraved title, subscriber's list, with 108 fine hand-colored engraved plates heightened with gum Arabic (4 hand-colored engraved plates of leaf shapes + 104 hand-colored engraved plates of flowers) and 108 uncolored plates printed in black (all plates in this work appear in two states, one state is hand-colored and the other is monochrome). Bound to style by the Studio Bindery of Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey, England, in speckled calf, the covers paneled in blind with on-laid light brown speckled panel surrounding a central area cross-hatched in blind, spine in six compartments with raised bands, the bands highlighted by tooling in gilt and blind, red morocco lettering-piece in the second compartment, the others with simple repeat gilt decoration of a centrally-placed flower-spray tool, marbled endpapers, lg thick folio (527 x 355mm). The text is printed in two columns one in Latin and on in English. The work was originally issued to subscribers in twenty parts between 1775 and 1777 to 85 subscribers who ordered a total 105 sets (some plates printed as early as 1770); the edition was limited to these 105 copies (subscriber's list included). "An immense work of botany where in Miller illustrated, in a style of unprecedented elegance, the sexual system of Linnaeus" (J. C. Lettsom - Memoirs of John Fothergill, 1789, p. 106). Linnaeus himself was full of praise for Miller's work, in a letter of 25 July 1775 he described the sample plates he had been sent as "pulchiores et accuratiores quam ullae quas vidit mundus a condito orbe" (more beautiful and accurate than any seen since the beginning of the world). Johann Sebastian Mueller was born in Nuremberg but moved permanently to England in 1744 changing his name to Miller. For the present work, he worked chiefly from specimens in the garden of John Fothergill at Upton in Essex, England. See also Great Flower Books (1990) p. 120; Soulsby 667; Stafleu & Cowan 6482." The frontispiece is lightly foxed, the 2nd and 76th colored plates show slight flaking of the green pigmentation, occasional offsetting from some uncolored plates onto the facing text leaves, a few faint mars to the outer leather boards, this large attractively-bound volume weighs about 40 pounds; a bright, clean copy in near fine condition.
Published by Published and Sold by the Author at his House in Dorset Court near Parliament Street, London, 1777
Seller: Donald A. Heald Rare Books (ABAA), New York, NY, U.S.A.
First Edition
3 volumes. Folio. (20 1/2 x 14 inches). First edition. 104 engraved plates in both hand-colored and uncolored states plus 4 hand-colored engraved plates of botanical details. Engraved allegorical frontispiece, engraved title, preface, subscription list, explanation of classes. Each uncolored plate with an accompanying descriptive letterpress leaf. Unpaginated. Contemporary full calf with roll-tooled gilt foliate, gilt-patterned board edges, bindings uniform across set, seven raised bands forming eight compartments on a richly gilt-patterned spine, gilt-lettered red morocco lettering-piece in second compartment and brown morocco in third, all edges gilt and sprinkled red Excellent example of Miller's prodigious Linnæan herbal with plates in two states. "An immense work . . . illustrated in a style of unprecedented elegance." [Lettsom] "More beautiful and more accurate than any since the world began." - Linnæus Miller's esteemed illustrated botanical book on the sexual system of Linnæus was published in twenty parts from 1770 to 1777, with plates issued as completed from 1770 onward. Volume I holds a suite of 104 engraved plates in proof states before letters, all colored in a fine contemporary hand with penciled names at the bottom of each leaf, printed recto with blank versos. Volumes II and III have the same suite of 104 plates, with 53 in Volume II and 51 in Volume III, each with an engraved title and imprint, and each paired with a leaf of descriptive letterpress text. These plates are uncolored with botanical text in Latin and English. An additional four hand-colored engraved plates are at the rear of Volume III. 178 varieties of plant leaves are shown across a total of 212 plates. Miller issued the plates in two states: with letters on the uncolored plates for science, and without letters on the colored plates for aesthetics. The plants themselves were sourced from Dr. John Fothergill's (1712-1780) renowned garden in Essex. Fothergill was an enthusiastic supporter of Miller and served as the superintendent of his book, but refused Miller's attempt to dedicate the work to him, stating that dedications were a "species of literary pageantry." [Lettsom] The text's botanical information was initially overseen by Gowan Knight (1713-1772), the first Principal Librarian of the British Museum and a friend of Fothergill's. According to the list of subscribers, 106 copies were ordered by 83 individuals or institutions. Queen Charlotte subscribed for two copies, while the booksellers P. Elmsley and B. White each took ten. Once the subscriptions had been filled, there were evidently leftover sets of text and colored plates. Henrey records a copy of the work in the Natural History Museum Library with a new 1794 title-page, with R. Faulder as the publisher. This re-set title accompanies a suite of the colored plates made up from what appears to be "the surplus of the plates of the 1777 edition." [Henrey] Miller, born Müeller, was a botanical artist and engraver from Nuremberg who studied with Johann Christoph Weigel and M. Tyroff before moving to England in 1744. He would reside there for the rest of his life. Miller came to the attention of the Swedish biologist Linnæus, the father of modern taxonomy, through the British naturalist John Ellis (1710-1776). Linnæus himself was sent samples of Miller's work for approval and had nothing but praise for the artist. Miller would go on to publish Botanical Tables in 1785 with John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), who served as the Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763. More than a thousand of Miller's original drawings now reside at the Natural History Museum in London. [DNB] Blunt, p.150. DNB. Dunthorne 207. ESTC T91594. Henrey III, 1153. Lettsom, The Memoirs of John Fothergill, p.106. Nissen BBI 1372. Plesch, p.336. Sitwell, Great Flower Books, p.120. Soulsby 667. Sprague, "John Sebastian Miller's 'Icones Novae'" in Journal of Botany, Vol. 74, pp. 208-209. Stafleu TL2 6482.
Dedication copy, with a stunning original pen and watercolour drawing in honour of Queen Charlotte of England, of the first edition of a highly esteemed illustrated book on the sexual system of Linnaeus, published in 20 parts from 1775 to 1777, with some plates issued as completed from 1770 onward. Our copy is bound in three volumes, with the volume numbers professionally lettered on the title-pages in ink. Volumes 2 and 3 contain the suite of plates in black and white plus the four hand-coloured plates showing 178 varieties of plant leaves, each plate with an engraved title and imprint. Volume 1 contains a suite of the same 104 plates in proof states with no lettering, all in a fine contemporary hand-colouring. The present copy of this rare and impressive flower book is especially valuable for its beautiful dedicatory watercolour drawing for Queen Charlotte (1744-1818), wife of King George III of England. Probably drawn by Miller himself, it shows Father Time and Britannia seated at the foot of an obelisk looking at the inscription "Charlotta Regina" that an angel just incised on it. A smoking incense burner sits on top of the obelisk, which two putti adorn with garlands while a herald angel blows its trumpet emitting the word "extendo". The whole is veiled in thick clouds and below it appears the winged decorated royal device bearing the legend "honi soit qui mal y pense".Water stain in upper outside corner of one plate and one text leaf in volume 3, and 2 of the plates of leaf varieties foxed, but generally in fine condition. The ink of the uncoloured plates has sometimes caused a shadow on the facing text page. The spine, joints and board edges have been expertly restored, with the loss of much of the gold-tooling on the spine of volume 1.l Blunt, p. 150; GFB, p. 68; Nissen, BBI 1372; Plesch, p. 336.