4to (273 x 216 mm). 10 engraved plates. (Spotting.) 19th century half morocco gilt, spine in 6 compartments with 5 raised bands, gilt-lettering in two (front joint touched up, fore-corners rubbed). Provenance: Benjamin Smith Barton (1766-1815), American botanist (signature on verso of title, dated 1801; initials on opposite leaf).

PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY ONE OF THE FIRST PROFESSORS OF BOTANY AND NATURAL HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES.

Born into a distinguished Philadelphia family, Barton received a broad education in both America and Europe, studying medicine and natural history in Edinburgh and Göttingen before returning to Philadelphia to establish his career. Appointed professor of botany at the University of Pennsylvania in 1789—the first such professorship in the United States—Barton quickly emerged as a central authority in American natural science. He later held the chair of materia medica and ultimately succeeded Benjamin Rush as professor of the theory and practice of medicine. Perhaps most significantly, Barton played an instrumental role in preparing Meriwether Lewis for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, providing intensive instruction in botany, zoology, and scientific observation. Lewis returned with 226 plants, which are now preserved at the Lewis and Clark Herbarium at the Academy of Sciences in Philadelphia. Soulsby, p.16.