Curtis, William

Curtis Botanical Magazine Plate 792: Colutea Galegifolia, Small-Leaved Bladder-Senna

London, T. Curtis, 1804. This is a hand colored copper plate engraving. The print measures 5.5 x 9.25 inches, with a plate mark of 4.5 x 7.75. It is a beautiful decorative antique print expertly colored and beautifully composed. This particular plate has been trimmed at the rough edge. Curtis' work was the first study of British flora, and artists contributing to the opus included James Sowerby, Sydenham Teak Edwards, Francis Sansom and William Kilburn. "The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name Curtis's Botanical Magazine. Each of the issues contains a description, in formal yet accessible language, and is renowned for featuring the work of two centuries of botanical illustrators. Many plants received their first publication on the pages, and the description given was enhanced by the keenly detailed illustrations. The first issue, in 1787, was begun by William Curtis, as both an illustrated gardening and botanical journal. Curtis was an apothecary and botanist who held a position at Kew Gardens, who had published the highly praised (but poorly sold) Flora Londinensis a few years before. The publication familiarized its readers with ornamental and exotic plants, which it presented in octavo format. Artists who had previously given over their flower paintings to an affluent audience, now saw their work published in a format accessible by a wider one. The illustrations were initially hand-coloured prints, taken from copper engravings and intended to complement the text. Identification by a general reader was given in exploded details, some of which were given as a section. This was accompanied by a page or two of text describing the plants properties, history, growth characteristics, and some common names for the species. The first volume's illustrations were mostly by Sydenham Edwards, a dispute with the editors saw his departure to start the rival The Botanical Register. The credit for the first plate (Iris persica) goes to James Sowerby, as did a dozen of Edwards contributions. The first thirty volumes used copper engraving to provide the plates, the hand colouring of these was performed by up to thirty people. An issue might have a circulation of 3000 copies, with 3 plates in each. As costs of production rose, and demand increased, results would be variable within a run. The later use of machine colouring would provide uniformity to the artists work, although the process could not give the same detail for many years. The magazine has been considered to be the premier journal for early botanical illustration." from Wikipedia. Very good + .

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 19471

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Keywords: Antique Print; Botanical; Botanical Print; William Curtis; Curtis Botanical Magazine Antique Prints Botanical

Curtis, William

Curtis Botanical Magazine Plate 846: Ixia Erecta, V. Lutea, Yellow Upright Ixia

London, T. Curtis, 1805. This is a hand colored copper plate engraving. The print measures 5.5 x 9.25 inches, with a plate mark of 4.5 x 7.75. It is a beautiful decorative antique print expertly colored and beautifully composed. This particular plate has been trimmed at the rough edge. Curtis' work was the first study of British flora, and artists contributing to the opus included James Sowerby, Sydenham Teak Edwards, Francis Sansom and William Kilburn. "The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name Curtis's Botanical Magazine. Each of the issues contains a description, in formal yet accessible language, and is renowned for featuring the work of two centuries of botanical illustrators. Many plants received their first publication on the pages, and the description given was enhanced by the keenly detailed illustrations. The first issue, in 1787, was begun by William Curtis, as both an illustrated gardening and botanical journal. Curtis was an apothecary and botanist who held a position at Kew Gardens, who had published the highly praised (but poorly sold) Flora Londinensis a few years before. The publication familiarized its readers with ornamental and exotic plants, which it presented in octavo format. Artists who had previously given over their flower paintings to an affluent audience, now saw their work published in a format accessible by a wider one. The illustrations were initially hand-coloured prints, taken from copper engravings and intended to complement the text. Identification by a general reader was given in exploded details, some of which were given as a section. This was accompanied by a page or two of text describing the plants properties, history, growth characteristics, and some common names for the species. The first volume's illustrations were mostly by Sydenham Edwards, a dispute with the editors saw his departure to start the rival The Botanical Register. The credit for the first plate (Iris persica) goes to James Sowerby, as did a dozen of Edwards contributions. The first thirty volumes used copper engraving to provide the plates, the hand colouring of these was performed by up to thirty people. An issue might have a circulation of 3000 copies, with 3 plates in each. As costs of production rose, and demand increased, results would be variable within a run. The later use of machine colouring would provide uniformity to the artists work, although the process could not give the same detail for many years. The magazine has been considered to be the premier journal for early botanical illustration." from Wikipedia. Very good + .

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 19472

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Keywords: Antique Print; Botanical; Botanical Print; William Curtis; Curtis Botanical Magazine Antique Prints Botanical

Curtis, William

Curtis Botanical Magazine Plate 869: Allium Triquetrum, Three-Edged Garlick

London, T. Curtis, 1805. This is a hand colored copper plate engraving. The print measures 5.5 x 9.25 inches, with a plate mark of 4.5 x 7.75. It is a beautiful decorative antique print expertly colored and beautifully composed. This particular plate has been trimmed at the rough edge. Curtis' work was the first study of British flora, and artists contributing to the opus included James Sowerby, Sydenham Teak Edwards, Francis Sansom and William Kilburn. "The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name Curtis's Botanical Magazine. Each of the issues contains a description, in formal yet accessible language, and is renowned for featuring the work of two centuries of botanical illustrators. Many plants received their first publication on the pages, and the description given was enhanced by the keenly detailed illustrations. The first issue, in 1787, was begun by William Curtis, as both an illustrated gardening and botanical journal. Curtis was an apothecary and botanist who held a position at Kew Gardens, who had published the highly praised (but poorly sold) Flora Londinensis a few years before. The publication familiarized its readers with ornamental and exotic plants, which it presented in octavo format. Artists who had previously given over their flower paintings to an affluent audience, now saw their work published in a format accessible by a wider one. The illustrations were initially hand-coloured prints, taken from copper engravings and intended to complement the text. Identification by a general reader was given in exploded details, some of which were given as a section. This was accompanied by a page or two of text describing the plants properties, history, growth characteristics, and some common names for the species. The first volume's illustrations were mostly by Sydenham Edwards, a dispute with the editors saw his departure to start the rival The Botanical Register. The credit for the first plate (Iris persica) goes to James Sowerby, as did a dozen of Edwards contributions. The first thirty volumes used copper engraving to provide the plates, the hand colouring of these was performed by up to thirty people. An issue might have a circulation of 3000 copies, with 3 plates in each. As costs of production rose, and demand increased, results would be variable within a run. The later use of machine colouring would provide uniformity to the artists work, although the process could not give the same detail for many years. The magazine has been considered to be the premier journal for early botanical illustration." from Wikipedia. Very good + .

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 19473

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Keywords: Antique Print; Botanical; Botanical Print; William Curtis; Curtis Botanical Magazine Antique Prints Botanical

Curtis, William

Curtis Botanical Magazine Plate 916: Uvularia Chinensis, Brown-Flowered Uvularia

London, T. Curtis, 1806. This is a hand colored copper plate engraving. The print measures 5.5 x 9.25 inches, with a plate mark of 4.5 x 7.75. It is a beautiful decorative antique print expertly colored and beautifully composed. This particular plate has been trimmed at the rough edge. Curtis' work was the first study of British flora, and artists contributing to the opus included James Sowerby, Sydenham Teak Edwards, Francis Sansom and William Kilburn. "The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name Curtis's Botanical Magazine. Each of the issues contains a description, in formal yet accessible language, and is renowned for featuring the work of two centuries of botanical illustrators. Many plants received their first publication on the pages, and the description given was enhanced by the keenly detailed illustrations. The first issue, in 1787, was begun by William Curtis, as both an illustrated gardening and botanical journal. Curtis was an apothecary and botanist who held a position at Kew Gardens, who had published the highly praised (but poorly sold) Flora Londinensis a few years before. The publication familiarized its readers with ornamental and exotic plants, which it presented in octavo format. Artists who had previously given over their flower paintings to an affluent audience, now saw their work published in a format accessible by a wider one. The illustrations were initially hand-coloured prints, taken from copper engravings and intended to complement the text. Identification by a general reader was given in exploded details, some of which were given as a section. This was accompanied by a page or two of text describing the plants properties, history, growth characteristics, and some common names for the species. The first volume's illustrations were mostly by Sydenham Edwards, a dispute with the editors saw his departure to start the rival The Botanical Register. The credit for the first plate (Iris persica) goes to James Sowerby, as did a dozen of Edwards contributions. The first thirty volumes used copper engraving to provide the plates, the hand colouring of these was performed by up to thirty people. An issue might have a circulation of 3000 copies, with 3 plates in each. As costs of production rose, and demand increased, results would be variable within a run. The later use of machine colouring would provide uniformity to the artists work, although the process could not give the same detail for many years. The magazine has been considered to be the premier journal for early botanical illustration." from Wikipedia. Very good + .

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 19474

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Keywords: Antique Print; Botanical; Botanical Print; William Curtis; Curtis Botanical Magazine Antique Prints Botanical

Dale, Ivan R. and P. J. Greenway

Kenya Trees & Shrubs

Nairobi, Buchanan's Kenya Est. Ltd. in association with Hatchards, 1961. First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo; pp; xxvii, (iii), 654, glossary, index; illustrated with thirty-one color plates by Joy Adamson and eighty black and white plates, and one hundred ten drawings, folding map at rear; black cloth lettered in gilt in a pictorial dust jacket. A comprehensive record of indigenous Kenya trees and shrubs of 6 ft. and more. Superb illustrations accompany accurate botanical descriptions sufficient for identification and timber utilisation. Very good/very good.

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 15801

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Darwin, Francis

The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Including a Biographical Chapter, Volume II (of II) Only

New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1887. First American Edition. Cloth. Small octavo (5" x 7.75"), terracotta cloth, gilt, with black border design on the cover which is in blind on the back cover. 562 ,(2)pp. with index and appendices. 2p. advertisment for Appleton's publications follows the index. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait from a photograph, and a facsimile of a notebook page from 1837 with the text printed on the facing page. Errata slip laid down on p.v. A lovely, solid copy. There is a faint white waxy streak on the cover and a little bump on the spine. This is Volume II only. Very good .

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 19316

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Keywords: Science; Natural History; Darwin; Natural Selection; Evolution

Darwin, Charles

The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication

London, John Murray, 1890. Second edition , revised. Tenth thousand. Cloth. Two volumes, small octavo (5" x 7.5"), dark green cloth with gilt titles. Covers decorated in blind. xiv, 473pp, [1] with ad leaf; x, 495pp. with index. Illustrated with wood engravings. A tight, clean set with a minor rubbed spot on each spine. There is a faded area at the fore-edge of the cover of volume one. A very attractive set. The first appearance of the term pangenesis, in which Darwin postulated the existence of a hereditary material inside cells called gemmules which could be modified by the organism's environment and passed on to the offspring. Very good.

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 19325

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Keywords: Science; Natural Selection; Evolution; Darwin; Natural History; Pangenesis; Gemmules

Dorst, Jean

The Life of Birds

New York, Columbia University Press, 1974. First American edition. Hardcover. First American edition, (1982); two volumes; octavo; pp. I; (viii), 349 with bibliography; II; (ii), 351-718 with index; illustrated, thirty-eight diagrams and fifteen photographs in black and white; green cloth, gilt; pictorial jackets. Very good; Title page date of 1974 belies the fact that this is the first American edition actually printed in 1982 or assembled from the English sheets of the first British edition with an American title page. The biology of birds from an ecological point of view. Very Good/very good.

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 12368

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Keywords: Science; Natural History; Birds; Ornithology; Ecology Ornithology / Birds

Dortort, Fred

The Timber Press Guide to Succulent Plants of the World; a Comprehensive Reference to More Than 2000 Species

Portland, The Timber Press, 2013. Second printing. Hardcover. (Portland: 2013). Small quarto (8.75 x 11.25), green boards with silver title in pictorial jacket. 344pp. with reading list and index of plant names. Profusely illustrated with color photography. There is an abraded spot at the edge of the frnt endpaper, and a tan streak on the rear endpaper. "As useful to novice growers as to collectors and those with an existing interest in succulents, this comprehensive, accessible volume will be the standard reference for years to come. Very good/very good +.

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 19489

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Keywords: Science; Natural History; Botany; Succulents; Cactus Gardening and Agriculture Botany

Elman, Robert

The Atlantic Flyway

(Tulsa), Winchester Press, 1980. First Edition. Hardcover. Quarto; pp; xviii, 203, bibliography and photo credits; Illustrated in color and black and white from photographs by Walter Osborne; blue linen lettered in gilt in a pictorial dust jacket. A Portrait Of Wildlife And Man On One Of The World's Great Migratory Corridors. Near fine/very good.

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 14552

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Keywords: Birds; Ornithology; Natural History; Science; Natural Science; Migration; Ornithology / Birds

Evans, Howard E.

A Taxonomic Study of the Nearctic Spider Wasps Belonging to the Tribe Pompilini (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae); Part I; (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) Part II; Genus Anoplius Dufour; Part III;

(Philadelphia), Transactions Of The American Entomolgical Society, 1951. Only Edition. Wraps. Three volumes, complete; Octavo; pp; I; 133--270; II; 207-361; III; 203-340, index; illustrated with black and white plates; original printed paper wrappers; This set is uncut. From the front wrapper; "This is a separatum from the Transactions and is not a reprint. It bears the original pagination and plate numbers, library copies were mailed at Philadelphia on the above date of issue". This is a scarce set. Near fine .

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 16334

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Keywords: Insects; Wasps;

Fisher, Walter K.

Starfishes of the Philippine Seas and Adjacent Waters

Washington DC, Government Printing Office, 1919. First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo; pp; xi, (i), 712, index; illustrated with 156 glossy full page black and white plates; green library buckram, original wrappers bound in, gilt spine lettering, Ex-Boston Society of Natural History Library, embossed blind stamp to front wrapper. Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin 100, Volume 3. Contributions to the Biology of the Philippine Archipelago and Adjacent Regions, by director of the Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. original front wrapper was detached but has been affixed with document repair tape, else a clean tight copy, very good.

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 18369

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Fitch, Asa

An Essay Upon the Wheat-Fly; and Some Species Allied to It

Albany, Carroll and Cook, 1845. First Edition. Wraps. From The American Quarterly Journal of Agriculture and Science; Octavo; pp. 32; Color frontispiece, plus a description of the plate; original printed string tied self wrappers. Dr. Asa Fitch (1809-1879) was a natural historian and entomologist. His early studies were of both natural history and medicine, which he studied at the newly formed Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 1854 he became the first professional entomologist of New York State Agricultural Society (commissioned by the State of New York). This made him the first occupational entomologist in the United States. His vast studies of many insects helped scientists to solve some of the problems of crop damage caused by insects. Many of his notebooks are now the property of the Smithsonian Institution. Fitch also discovered the Rodent Botfly Cuterebra emasculator in 1856. Very good .

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 13021

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Fitch, Asa

First and Second Report on the Noxious, Beneficial, and Other Insects of the State of New York. Made to the State Agricultural Society. .

Albany, C. Van Benthuysen, 1856. Hardcover. Octavo; pp. (ii), 336 with index; Three lithographic insect frontispiece plates, and woodcuts; embossed black cloth, gilt; wear and chipping at spine ends; Previous owner's name on the front free fly leaf; Presentation orange bookplate from B. P. Johnson Secretary of the New York State Agricultural Society. Dr. Asa Fitch (1809-1879) was a natural historian and entomologist. His early studies were of both natural history and medicine, which he studied at the newly formed Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 1854 he became the first professional entomologist of New York State Agricultural Society (commissioned by the State of New York). This made him the first occupational entomologist in the United States. His vast studies of many insects helped scientists to solve some of the problems of crop damage caused by insects. Many of his notebooks are now the property of the Smithsonian Institution. Fitch also discovered the Rodent Botfly Cuterebra emasculator in 1856. Very good .

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 13031

Catalogue: Science & Natural History

Fitch, Asa

The Most Pernicious Species of United States Insects and the Curculio, Two Addresses Delivered at the Annual Meetings of the New York State Agricultural Society, A.D. 1859 and 1860

Albany, C. Van Benthuysen, 1860. First Edition. Wraps. Octavo; pp. 28 with drawings; original printed string tied yellow paper wrappers. Dr. Asa Fitch (1809-1879) was a natural historian and entomologist. His early studies were of both natural history and medicine, which he studied at the newly formed Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 1854 he became the first professional entomologist of New York State Agricultural Society (commissioned by the State of New York). This made him the first occupational entomologist in the United States. His vast studies of many insects helped scientists to solve some of the problems of crop damage caused by insects. Many of his notebooks are now the property of the Smithsonian Institution. Fitch also discovered the Rodent Botfly Cuterebra emasculator in 1856. Very good or better .

Austin's Antiquarian BooksProfessional seller

Book number: 13030

Catalogue: Science & Natural History