The Fossil Flora of Great Britain; or Figures and Descriptions of the Vegetable Remains Found in a Fossil State in This Country. 3 volumes

London: James Ridgway & Sons, Picadilly 1831 - 1837. Three volumes, octavo, with 230 plates, pp lix,(i); 218, (6); xxviii, x, 208; 205, (2), a little age-toning and marking throughout, in each volume there is one internal hinge cracking; probably contemporary half calf, rubbed and fraying, upper joints weak, particularly so in the third volume. A duplicate from Worthing Reference Library with their attractive bookplate in each volume; a neat small circular stamp in the corner of each plate, on the title pages and the occasional text page, a shelf number on the spines. [A cornerstone of fossil flora literature. The work served to catalogue many of the fossil plants recognized by the 1830s from Britain, ranging in age from Carboniferous to Pleistocene. Together with contributions from Henslow, Murray and Williamson, Lindley and Hutton described, illustrated and, in some cases, emended almost 300 species, with many of their type and figured specimens having survived. By giving the first illustrated account of the microscopic structure of a fossil cuticle together with discussions about the origin of coal, prehistoric climates, experimental taphonomy and plant evolution, "The Fossil Flora" was much more than a catalogue of fossil plants. Lindley must surely rank amongst his palaeobotanical contemporaries for having pioneered aspects of the science that remain topics of active research into the third millennium.]. First Edition. Half-Leather. Good.