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Description
1327 1228
Euphorbia Hiberna
Jul 1 1804 Published by Jas. Sowerby London
From 36-volume ‘Sowerby's Botany’, published from 1790-1813. There was a second edition 1832-1846 to take advantage of a mechanical colour printing.
I believe this is the earlier edition, hand-coloured print.
Lovely colours.
Oxidation around top/left edges. Paper crinkled at right where inserted into volume.
13 x 21.25 cm // 5 1/8” x 8 3/8“
James Sowerby (21 March 1757 – 25 October 1822) was an English naturalist and illustrator. Contributions to published works, such as A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland or English Botany, include his detailed and appealing plates. The use of vivid colour and accessible texts were intended to reach a widening audience in works of natural history.
In 1790, he began the first of several huge projects: a 36-volume work on the botany of England that was published over the next 24 years, contained 2592 hand-colored engravings and became known as Sowerby's Botany. An enormous number of plants were to receive their formal publication, but the authority for these came from the unattributed text written by James Edward Smith.
Later editions of the book were to take advantage of a mechanical colour printing, further increasing the affordability of the book.
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