Maund - The Botanic Garden Vol. III - 1829

Magnificent botanical plate book with hand-coloured plant illustrations – a classic testament to English garden and plant knowledge of the early 19th century.

First edition. Publisher: London, Simpkin and Marshall; Sherwood and Co., 1829-30. 195 pages with engraved title page and 24 (of 24) coloured copperplates, half-leather binding of the period, marble paper endleaves, marbled edges, 20 x 16 cm.
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Benjamin Maund’s multi-volume work ranks among the most significant English botanical publications of the first half of the 19th century. It combines scientifically grounded plant descriptions with exceptionally carefully executed, hand-coloured plates and is aimed equally at botanists, gardeners, and lovers of garden art. The finely coloured representations convey the characteristic features of each species with great accuracy while also possessing high decorative appeal.

Each plant species is treated in detail on its own textual page. In addition to botanical classification and origin, there are notes on flowering time, culture, use, and references to the introduction of the species into British garden culture. In this way, the work superbly documents the great enthusiasm for exotic and native ornamental plants during the Regency and early Victorian eras.

To this day, The Botanic Garden is regarded as one of the finest popular-science plant works of its time. The high-quality coloured plates make the work equally a valued botanical reference and a coveted Collectible for bibliophiles, garden historians, and lovers of historical plant illustrations.

With armorial bookplate of the Bradshaigh (Bradshaw) family of Haigh Hall, Lancashire, England (early 19th century), from the library of Baronet Roger Hesketh Bradshaigh (1786–1866)
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Binding rubbed, paper occasionally slightly foxed, otherwise very clean. Overall a decorative and collectible exemplar.