The Collected Library

16 volumes, 8vo (vols. I-VX, 230 x 160 mm; vol.XVI, 238 x 160 mm). 722 (of 723?) hand-colored engraved or lithographic flower plates by F.W. Smith or S. Holden, including numerous folding plates, 6 plates of designs for gardens, numerous wood-engraved illustrations. (Lacking half-titles, some plates shaved into image or imprint area as usual, occasional light offsetting.) 19th-century calf, black gilt lettering-pieces, marbled edges (rubbed and worn). Provenance: Joseph Gillett (booksellers' ticket on pastedown); J. Thompson (bookseller's ticket on pastedown); Mohonk Lake Library (stamps on titles and preliminaries); sold Christie's New York, 2014 (sale 3400, lot 194).

FIRST EDITION of one of the most popular and successful Victorian botanical periodicals. The correct number of plates is not known with certainty; Stafleu and Cowan quote the New York Botanical Society copy (with 723 plates) but say that they "are not sure that 723 is the exact number of plates issued." Nissen calls for 768 plates. Nissen BBI 2351; Stafleu-Cowan TL2 7554. Sold as a periodical, not subject to return.