Search Results: Authors starting with R from Florilegius

Lovely copy of Rebecca Hey's charming Victorian book of botanical plates and poetry
With all 24 superb botanical illustrations drawn and engraved on steel by William Clark
The botanical illustrations finished to a very high standard with deep, rich handcolour
Flowers include mostly British plants such almond blossom, rosemary and violet, daisy, primrose, dog rose, lily of the valley, jasmine, myrtle, hawthorn, forget-me-not, bramble, heath, wallflower, speedwell, and a few exotic imports such as rhododendron, passionflower, etc.
With botanical information contributed by Sir James Edward Smith and James Drummond. "The engravings accompanying them, as well as the drawings from which they were taken, are the production of Mr William Clark, formerly draughtsman and engraver to the London Horticultural Society; a sufficient guarantee, it is presumed, for the excellence of their execution." (from the Preface)
Rebecca Hey (1797-1859) was an English poet and botanical artist. She was born Rebecca Roberts in… Read More

Lovely copy of Rebecca Hey's charming Victorian book of botanical plates and poetry
With all 26 superb botanical illustrations drawn by the author and engraved on steel by William Clark
The botanical illustrations finished to a very high standard with deep, rich handcolour
A companion to Moral of Flowers, this book covers woodland trees and includes plates of mostly European trees such as the oak, elm, ash, beech, lime, birch, holly, willow, yew, hazel, cherry, cedar, etc. The botanical illustrations include fruit, berries, blossom, leaves, catkins, etc. (A few exotic trees like the fig, banyan, palm and sandal tree are described in the text.)
"A source of great additional interest has been the presentation of the drawings for the illustration of the work, which the author herself has ventured to execute from nature, and which she trusts will be found botanically correct." (from the Preface)
Rebecca Hey (1797-1859) was an English poet and botanical artist. She was born Rebecca Roberts in Leeds,… Read More

Very good copy of Henry Rene d'Allemagne's classic history of sports and games of skill.With 100 lithographic and heliogravure plates (30 hand-coloured, many tinted) and 328 illustrations in the text. Games described include hoops, kite-flying, stilt-walking, spinning tops, hide-and-seek, darts, archery, carousels, bilboquet (cup and ball), the diabolo (Chinese yo-yo), tennis, golf, billiards, boules or petanque, wrestling, dancing, gymnastics, acrobatics, etc. The illustrations are facsimile heliogravures of ancient illuminated manuscripts, engravings, woodcuts and prints from the medieval era to the 19th century.Text in French.Henry-Rene d'Allemagne (1863-1950), was librarian at the Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal in Paris, an archivist, historian and specialist in decorative arts. He published books on many unusual subjects such as games, ancient locksmithing, illumination, playing cards, etc.Some browning to the decorative colour pictorial boards, t.e.g., marble endpapers, interior clean and bright with… Read More

Very good copy of Richard Dagley's first foray into caricatureWith 26 comical illustrations from the life of a young wastrel in Regency England, most engraved by William Henry BrookesWith 2-page dedication, 3-page advertisement, 32-page essay Miscellaneous Observations on the Ludicrous in Art all by Dagley, and 4-page introduction in poetry and 180-page poem by Gaspey. According to the preface, it was the author of Flim-Flams! [Isaac D'Israeli], who encouraged Dagley to experiment with comedy. Later, "an ingenious friend" suggested he used the word "Taking" to stimulate further practice. The result is seen here in these commissioned illustrations for Thomas Gaspey's doggerel adventure.A young student, Tom Takeall, ignores his father's advice and sets off on a disastrous series of adventures. He is depicted riding dangerously, spending lavishly on clothes, losing bets on the horses, getting robbed in the theatre, boxing with a prizefighter, eloping with a young woman and then pistol-dueling with her… Read More

Very good complete copy of the true second edition of a masterpiece of book illustration by William Blake, 1813.Engraved portrait frontispiece of William Blake by Luigi Schiavonetti after the portrait by Thomas PhillipsWith 12 beautiful designs by William Blake: vignette on engraved title page and 11 full-page plates, engraved by Luigi Schiavonetti.The Skeleton Re-animated (IX, on title page)Christ descending into the Grave (I)Death of the Strong Wicked Man (IV)The Soul hovering over the Body reluctantly parting with Life (VI)The Soul exploring the recesses of the Grave (VII)The Descent of Man into the Vale of Death (II)The Counseller, King, Warrior, Mother and Child in the Tomb (VIII)The Day of Judgment (XII)The Death of the Good Old Man (V)The Meeting of the Family in Heaven (XI)The Reunion of the Soul and the Body (X)Death's Door (III)Signed in manuscript on the half-title by American writer and editor "Horace E. Scudder May 1864"1-page dedication to the Queen by William Blake, 8-page list of… Read More

Very good complete copy of this last great English medical botany of the 19th century.With 306 fine hand-coloured botanical plates, several double-page, some finished with gum arabic, drawn from nature and lithographed by David Blair. Each dynamic plate filled to the edge with details of the plant's stalk, leaf, fruit, seed, branch and flower.Each plate with several pages of text including description, habitat, collection and commerce, general character and composition, medical properties and uses.Robert Bentley (1821-1893) was an English botanist and pharmacologist. He was professor in botany at King's College from 1859, and became a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 1874. Henry Trimen (1843-1896) was a London-born botanist who became director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Ceylon (Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka) from 1879-95. He also published The Flora of Ceylon (1893) David Blair (1820-1899?), was a botanical artist and lithographer who also worked on Transactions of the… Read More

Very good copy of this rare book of Indian costume by Captain Robert Smith, 44th Regiment
Complete with 44 finely hand-coloured engravings of Indian men and women of all castes
Captain Robert Smith (1792-1882), was a soldier in the British line regiment H.M. 44th (East Essex) Foot, and served in India from 1825-33. He prepared an illustrated diary of Indian views from 1828-33 and drew various panoramas of Indian cities, all now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
"The representations of Asiatic Costumes composing this collection are engraved from drawings taken during a short residence in India. Most of them were sketched from life; but, to make the series more complate, a few have been copied from drawings by a native artist. The short descriptions annexed to the several figures are chiefly from notes taken on the spot."
Includes a dozen fascinating depictions of dancing girls and boys and musicians from a Nautch party. Girls dance and sing to music from sarangi and tabla drums. The frontispiece shows… Read More

Complete set of all two volumes on British Fish from Sir William Jardine's ambitious Victorian series The Naturalist's Library
With all 72 steel engravings (68 handcoloured plates, 2 b/w title vignettes and 2 b/w portraits) engraved by Scottish engraver William Lizars after illustrations by James Stewart
Most fish are depicted lying on the seashore having been caught by fishermen, and include many edible species such as perch, mackerel, seabream, salmon, trout, halibut, sole, etc. Includes the critically endangered European eel, angel shark, eagle ray and school shark, along with endangered bramble shark, vendace, basking shark, etc.
Ichthyology Vol. IV, British Fishes, Vol. I, Robert Hamilton, 36 steel engraved plates by James Stewart, portrait of Rondeletius, 1843 (but with Pl. 1-23 only)
Ichthyology Vol. VI, British Fishes, Vol. II, Robert Hamilton, 36 steel engraved plates by James Stewart, portrait of Baron Humboldt, 1843 (with Pl. 24-34 from Vol. I bound before Pl. I-34 of Vol. 2)
Sir William… Read More

Very good set of the first seven volumes (of 11 published) with approx. 580 plates.
The most important survey of British wild flowers in the Victorian era, far more comprehensive than Jane Loudon's or John Sowerby's.
The hand-coloured lithographic plates by Charlotte Gower and Worthington George Smith.
Robert Hogg (1818-1897) was a Scottish nurseryman and botanist. He was known as a pomologist who contributed to the science of classification. His other works include British Pomology (1851) and the magazine The Florist and Pomologist (1863~).
George William Johnson (1802-1886), was a British writer on gardening.
Charlotte Gower, fl. 1860-1880, was a British botanical artist known for her collaboration with Robert Hogg.
Worthington George Smith (1835-1917) was an English cartoonist, book illustrator, archaeologist, plant pathologist, and mycologist. His botanical works include Gardener's Chronicle from 1869, Mushrooms and Toadstools (1879), Illustrations of the British Flora (1880), etc.
Matching set in… Read More

Madame Adelaide Simonet in the character of Princess Ninette in Gaetan Vestris's Grand Ballet called "Ninette a la Cour," King's Theatre, 1781.

The Italian ballerina Adelaide de Camp married the dancer Louis Simonet and accompanied him to England in the 1770s.

Copperplate engraving by J. Thornthwaite after an illustration by James Roberts from Bell's British Theatre, Consisting of the most esteemed English Plays, John Bell, London, April 28, 1791.

Page size 21.5 x 14cm, plate size 17.5 x 11.5cm

Strong impression on laid paper, slight staining and age toning.

Signora Giovanna Baccelli in Louis Simonet's ballet "Les Amans Surpris."

The Italian ballerina danced the role at the King's Theatre, 1786.

Copperplate engraving by J. Thornthwaite after an illustration by James Roberts from Bell's British Theatre, Consisting of the most esteemed English Plays, John Bell, London, May 15, 1781.

Page size 21.5 x 14cm, plate size 17.5 x 11.5cm

Strong impression on laid paper, slight staining and age toning.

Signor Gaetan Vestris senior, 1729 – 1808, Italian-born ballet dancer and dancing master.

Depicted in the character of the Prince in the grand pantomime ballet called "Ninette a la Cour." In tall plumed hat, luxurious cape, doublet and hose.

Copperplate engraving by J. Thornthwaite after an illustration by James Roberts in Bell's British Theatre, London, April 9, 1781.

Page size 21.5 x 14cm, plate size 17.5 x 11.5cm

Strong impression on laid paper, slight staining and age toning.

Monsr. Vestris Junior in the ballet "Les Amans Surpris," 1781.

He wears a plumed hat, beribboned coat, breeches and stockings, and holds out a garland of flowers.

Auguste Vestris (1760-1842), illegitimate son of dancers Gaetan Vestris and Marie Allard, made his stage debut in 1772. He made his London debut in the serious ballet "Les Amans Surpris," dancing with Giovanna Baccelli, and astonished England "more by his agility than his grace."

Copperplate engraving by J. Thornthwaite after an illustration by James Roberts in Bell's British Theatre, London, July 20, 1781.

Page size 21.5 x 14cm, plate size 17.5 x 11.5cm

Strong impression on laid paper, slight staining and age toning, slight crease within the plate mark, browning to page edges.

Very good set of a complete year of this influential magazine, Second Series, Volumes I and II, 12 monthly issues from January to December 1816 bound in two volumes. A fascinating view of the taste of London high society in the year after Wellington's victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. Includes a handcoloured plate of Napoleon's carriage from Waterloo, and an engraved plan of the newly built Waterloo Bridge.Complete with all 55 handcoloured engravings of fashion, landscapes, architecture and furniture, 12 engravings of needlework patterns, and 4 miscellaneous engravings.Each issue typically with two handcoloured architecture plates, two handcoloured London fashion plates, one handcoloured interior plate (furniture, curtains, etc.) and one needlework pattern.The fashion plates unsigned but attributed to the Arbiter Elegantiarum (Thomas Uwins), and depicting designs by London milliners and dressmakers such as Mrs Charlotte Bean of Albemarle Street, Mrs Griffin of Rider Street, St. James,… Read More

Very good set of a complete year of this influential magazine, Second Series, Volumes III and IV, 12 monthly issues from January to December 1817 bound in two volumes. A fascinating view of the taste of London high society in the years after Wellington's victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. With 54 handcoloured engravings of fashion, landscapes, architecture and furniture, 12 engravings of needlework patterns and an early example of lithography. Two missing fashion plates and text pages 364/365 from the December issue provided in facsimile.Each issue typically with one handcoloured architecture or landscape plate, two handcoloured London fashion plates, one handcoloured interior plate (furniture, etc.) and one needlework pattern. This year contains nine plates by popular caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson illustrating Sentimental Travels to the South of France, later published by Ackermann.The fashion plates unsigned but attributed to the Arbiter Elegantiarum (Thomas Uwins), and depicting… Read More

Good run of six monthly issues of this influential magazine, Third Series, Volume I, January to June 1826, bound in one volume. A fascinating view of the taste of London high society in the year 1826, with the steady rise of the Gothic taste in interiors, and the profits from the slave trade in architecture. Complete with 30 handcoloured engravings of fashion, landscapes, architecture and furniture, 6 engravings of needlework patterns.Each issue typically with two handcoloured architecture plates, two handcoloured London fashion plates, one handcoloured interior plate (furniture, curtains, etc.) and one needlework pattern.The fashion plates unsigned but attributed to the Arbiter Elegantiarum (Thomas Uwins). There are promenade, carriage, evening, dinner and ball gowns by Miss Davis of Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, along with other dresses by anonymous designers and milliners. The architecture plates mostly landscape scenes showing stately homes and gardens of the aristocracy by John Gendall. These… Read More

Good run of six monthly issues of this influential magazine, Third Series, Volume IV, July to December 1824, bound in one volume. A fascinating view of the taste of London high society in the year 1824.Complete with all 29 handcoloured engravings of fashion, landscapes, architecture and furniture, 6 engravings of needlework patterns.Each issue typically with two handcoloured architecture plates, two handcoloured London fashion plates, one handcoloured interior plate (furniture, curtains, etc.) and one needlework pattern.The fashion plates unsigned but attributed to the Arbiter Elegantiarum (Thomas Uwins). The plates show fashionable women in morning and promenade dresses, elegant opera and ball gowns, etc.The architecture plates mostly landscape scenes showing stately homes and gardens of the aristocracy by John Gendall. The Marquis of Stafford's seat at Trentham Hall, actor-manager David Garrick's house on the Thames Hampton House, Egyptologist Richard William Howard Vyse's house at Stoke Place, the… Read More

Very good set of a complete year of this influential magazine, Third Series, Volumes V and VI, 12 monthly issues from January to December 1825 bound in two volumes. A fascinating view of the taste of London high society in the Regency era, still basking in Wellington's victory at the Battle of Waterloo.With 59 (of 60) handcoloured engravings of fashion, landscapes, architecture and furniture under tissue guards, 11 engravings of needlework patterns.Frontispiece, "To Readers and Correspondents," title page, Plate 1, pages 2 and 3 of the January issue provided in facsimile.Each issue typically with two handcoloured architecture plates, two handcoloured London fashion plates, one handcoloured interior plate (furniture, etc.) and one needlework pattern.The fashion plates unsigned but attributed to the Arbiter Elegantiarum (Thomas Uwins), and depicting designs by anonymous London milliners and dressmakers. There are elegant dinner and balls gowns, casual morning and promenade dresses, hats and bonnets, and… Read More

Good run of six monthly issues of this influential magazine, Third Series, Volume I, January to June 1823, bound in one volume. A fascinating view of the taste of London high society in the year 1823.Complete with 29 handcoloured engravings of fashion, landscapes, architecture and furniture, 6 engravings of needlework patterns, one engraved fold-out music score of a German waltz by Beethoven, and one engraved plate of a military trophy.Each issue typically with two handcoloured architecture plates, two handcoloured London fashion plates, one handcoloured interior plate (furniture, curtains, etc.) and one needlework pattern.The fashion plates unsigned but attributed to the Arbiter Elegantiarum (Thomas Uwins). The fashions include bonnets and hats, casual morning and promenade dresses as well as elegant evening wear and ball gowns, a few by Miss Pierpoint of 9 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, the others by anonymous designers. They show women lounging on a chaise longue playing an oud, wearing carriage… Read More