A Synoptical Compend of British Botany

Second Hand
Hardback
Published by: Bagster, Strand, White
1st edition. Book Condition: Good+.

Full black leather (likely 19th century), Small 12mo sized (6×4 inches), with gilt decoration to spine and gilt titles on red leather spine label; corners bumped, rubbed all round, loss to top of spine, hinges cracked but still firmly bound, rear FEP detached but present. Internally fairly crisp with a few minor creases, very small loss to the corners of the title page which has an ownership name in ink, later neatly crossed out in ink; the 2nd blank leaf matching the endpaper paper type has been torn out; almost no foxing with the exception of the first few leaves, relatively little age toning throughout the bulk of the textblock; title page a little on the dull side with significant thumbing / moderate soiling; some small notes written in ink plus some pencil marginalia, underlining etc done in a neat hand throughout the text. Please note this book has erratic pagination: whilst there are 97 numbered pages, it is only the prelims and the index that have normal pagination, the bulk of the text is numbered once per double page chart, with section contents pages unnumbered; additionally the pages have not always been bound in the order shown in the section contents; collation as follows: viii+227pp (signatures A-T, X-Hh) with no plates. PLEASE NOTE this has a binding error: it is missing a single signature/quire/gathering affecting tables 56 (Tetradynamia Siliquos, water-cress to wall-cress: right hand page (characteristics) missing), 57 (brassica & mustard: full table missing) & 58 (Monadelphia Pentandria, geranium: left hand page missing). Overall Good+. Photos available on request. A very scarce 1st edition botany in an attractive binding. Full title: British Botany (from the class monandria to polygamia inclusive) arranged after the Linnean system: and containing the essential characters of the genera, the specific characters, English names, places of growth, soil and situation, colour of the flowers, times of flowering, duration, and references to figures.