Luxury lithography from Liverpool - one of 150 copies. One of the most impressive lithographed botanical books, containing numerous exotic species on 112 fine hand-coloured plates.

At this time Liverpool was the second city in England with numerous trading connections world-wide and in particular with the Southern States of America. The printing costs of such luxurious books was immense, and the price of such publications was correspondingly high, hence the small edition. Roscoe, a local banker and amateur gardener who founded the Liverpool Botanical Garden in 1802, would have been one of a very small number who could undertake such a project. The book is noteworthy for being a true local production, both being made and published in Liverpool.

First edition, one of 150 copies; large folio (56 x 43 cm); letterpress title, 112 lithographed plates, hand-coloured by George Graves, Jr., after drawings by Rebecca Miller, Thomas Allport, Mrs. E. Roscoe, Mrs. J. Dixon, and others, unpaginated descriptive text, on Whatman wove paper watermarked 1823-1827, scattered minor spotting, heavy spotting to one plate and adjacent text leaf (Phrynium Parviflorum), occasional light finger-soiling to margins, slight chipping and creasing to lower corner of prelims; contemporary brown morocco gilt by J. Law Binder Liverpool (stamp to front free endpaper), double-ruled gilt border, richly gilt central panel, spine with 6 raised bands, in 7 compartments, gilt lettering to second and fifth, others richly gilt, neatly rebacked, inner dentelles gilt, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, slightly rubbed, else a lovely copy.

Dunthorne 267; Great Flower Books (1990) p.133; Johnston 948; Nissen BBI 1677; Stafleu & Cowan 9505.