Eucalyptographia. A Descriptive Atlas of the Eucalypts of Australia and the Adjoining Islands. First Decade [to] Tenth Decade [the complete set]

MUELLER, Baron Ferdinand von

Published by John Ferres, Government Printer (and others), Melbourne, 1879

About this Item

Melbourne, John Ferres, Government Printer (and others), 1879 to 1884. Large quarto, ten fascicles, each containing a separate title leaf and 11 full-page lithographic plates, each with a leaf (sometimes more) of descriptive text. The first fascicle also contains a four-page introduction; the last one contains a general title page, dedication, retrospective remarks and assorted indices at the rear (in all, 14 leaves). A 'Directions for Binding' slip is tipped in at the title page of this fascicle. Original flush-cut quarter cloth and stiffened printed wrappers; slight loss to the cloth at the head of one decade and the foot of another; occasional light foxing and trifling signs of age and use internally; overall, a very presentable set, with a few cover blemishes as noted here. First Decade: front cover moderately marked, foxed and lightly chipped, with the top corner expertly stabilised. Second Decade: slight loss to the cloth at the foot of spine; wrappers a little marked; ownership details ('Croskell and Sons') on the front cover. Third Decade: wrappers marked; rear one creased with minor loss to the bottom corner; one rear blank page slightly soiled. Fourth Decade: 'Croskell and Sons' on the front cover. Fifth Decade: wrappers slightly marked and creased. Sixth Decade: rear cover a little soiled near the leading edge, with minor loss to insects (and trifling marginal loss to the last three leaves). Seventh Decade: cloth at the head of the spine slightly worn. Eighth Decade: front cover slightly marked. Ninth and Tenth Decades: in excellent condition. The First Decade carries a presentation inscription 'To the Honorable David Wilkie, M.D., | a generous and enlightened | supporter of the author's researches'. David Elliot Wilkie (1815-1885), Scottish-born physician, 'arrived in Adelaide late in 1838 as surgeon-superintendent of the "Lloyds". Disappointed by the state of the colony, he moved to Melbourne in March 1839 . Soon successful, Wilkie specialized in diseases of women and children . He had been prominent in 1839 in founding the Melbourne Mechanics' Institute (from 1873 the Melbourne Athenaeum) of which he was treasurer in 1856-78. An inveterate collector and classifier of specimens of natural history, he and his friends Sir Ferdinand Mueller and John Macadam helped Andrew Clarke to form a national collection initially under the charge of the Philosophical Society of Victoria (1854). He was later a council member of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria (Royal Society from 1860), and was a leading executive member and treasurer of the Exploration Committee which sponsored the Burke and Wills expedition; with Mueller and Macadam he jointly published seven reports between 1857 and 1863' ('Australian Dictionary of Biography'). [10 items].

Seller Inventory # 144179

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Eucalyptographia. A Descriptive Atlas of the Eucalypts of Australia and the Adjoining Islands. First Decade [to] Tenth Decade [the complete set]
• Publisher: John Ferres, Government Printer (and others), Melbourne
• Publication Date: 1879
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Botany & Gardening
  • Natural History
  • Signed
  • Australia