Captain Cook's Florilegium. A Selection of Engravings from the Drawings of Plants Collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander on Captain Cook's First Voyage to the Islands of the Pacific, with Accounts of the Voyage by Wilfrid Blunt and of the Botanical Explorations and Prints by William T. Steam.
London, Lion and Unicorn Press, 1973. 1st Edition. Hardcover. First edition. No. 9 of 100 copies printed. Large folio; pp. [I12]; engraved frontispiece and 29 engraved plates, all with tissue guards. Original black Nigerian morocco back, Japanese black silk paper-covered boards, with black morocco fore-edges by Zaehnsdorf, lettered in gilt on upper board; in original felt-lined black linenn covered solander box; slightly scuffed. Broadsheet of "List of Subscribers to Captain Cook's Florilegium" laid in, fine condition.(ewc) "Captain Cook's Florilegium" is one of the finest botanical productions of all time. The Lion and Unicorn Press' printing of these original eighteenth-century copper plates appeared in an edition of only 100 copies. The beautiful plates are after finished drawings by F. P. Nodder, J.F. Miller, James Miller and J Cleveley from Sydney Parkinson's sketches, printed by Thomas Ross and Son and Michael Rand. When Cook's first voyage returned to London, the original botanical drawings were made into detailed and accurate paintings under Banks' supervision, with reference to the collection of actual specimens. These rich impressions show the important botany of the Cook voyage to great advantage. Item #40245
Price: $6,000.00 save 25% $4,500.00