VEITCH, James Herbert (1868-1907). Hortus Veitchii A History of the Rise and Progress of the Nurseries of Messrs. James Veitch and Sons, Together with an Account of the Botanical Collectors and Hybridists Employed by them and a List of the Most Remarkable of Their Introductions. London: James Veitch & Sons Limited, 1906.

4to (285 x 198 mm). Photogravure frontispiece, title printed in red and black, 50 photogravure plates. (A few light spots, some occasional creasing.) Contemporary half black morocco gilt, marbled paper, tan metal-tipped cornerpieces, top edge gilt, others uncut (spine sunned, some browning).

LIMITED EDITION, one of an unstated number “for Private Circulation only.” The Veitch family comprised several generations of distinguished horticulturalists, owned the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in the 19th century, and may have been the first to employ “plant-hunters” for their nurseries. James Veitch was a fellow of both the Linnean Society and the Royal Horticultural Society. Through the Veitch family’s work “a mass of interest and beauty has been added to the gardens of Great Britain!” (Introduction, p. 10), and the work includes 1500 plants the business introduced to the market.

Selections from the Property of Dr. Eugene Vigil, Antiquariat Botanicum