Details
BOTANICAL ALBUM -- "Figures of Plants executed at Mr. Martyn's Academy, Great Marlborough Street, London, 1795."
4° (345 x 275mm). Manuscript title and 51 ORIGINAL DRAWINGS OF FLOWERS in pencil, watercolour and body colour, some apparently over a very lightly-printed engraved base, on paper watermarked "J. Whatman", all with gold-leaf fillet borders, some drawings extending to paper edge. (Some leaves with slight dust soiling, mainly to upper margin, a few pencil captions just trimmed.) Red straight-grained morocco gilt by C. Hering with his ticket, covers with gilt ruled borders, spine with gilt rosettes (slightly discoloured), gilt inner dentelles. Provenance: Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny (1755-1843; armorial bookplate).
A finely-executed and lavishly-presented florilegium. The Mr. Martyn of the title was the botanist and writer Thomas Martyn (1735-1825) who came to London in 1784. Each drawing has a pencil caption giving the plant's name; in some cases fuller descriptions are given, often on the verso, including the flower's country of origin, colouring and, in one case, the periodical from which the drawing was copied. Most of the plants illustrated are from Britain, but there are some exceptions, such as the Yuccas and the Oriental Teucrine. The plants are captioned as follows: Sublinear Aster, Short ray'd Aster, Heart leaved Aster, One flowered Aster, Indian Aster, Umbredded (?) Aster, Pyrenean Astor, Dingy Wellwood, Hairy Astor, Broad Pokeweed Virginia, Dragon Yucca, White Bryany, Dotted Astor, Curled leaved Astor, Canada Teucrine, Simple leaved Birdweed, Scattery Astor, Long beaked Cranebill, Racemore Aster, Scaly Treadwort, Glorious Yucca, Ventura Jerusalem Sage, Carolina Sun flower, Hyssop Scull cap, Common St. Johnswort and Oval Bookweed, Wavy leaved Aster, Oriental Teucrine, Bushy Aster, Tufty Swordleaf, Dotted Aloe, Common Willowstock, Long spiked Astor, Tender Eringo, Many flower'd Fair Thistle, Drooping leaved Astor, Pennelified (?) Bryone, Streamy Scullcap, Clustry Aster, Grape Aloe, Hairy Sheeps Rampion, Hairy disk'd Aster, Expanded Hopewort Cape of Good Hope, an unnamed flower from the Garden at Kew, Flaxey Astor, Embroider'd Cranebill, Thready Yucca, Thick Aloe [and] Clammy Aloe, Heathy Astor, Superb Tuftflower, Aloe leaved Yucca.
4° (345 x 275mm). Manuscript title and 51 ORIGINAL DRAWINGS OF FLOWERS in pencil, watercolour and body colour, some apparently over a very lightly-printed engraved base, on paper watermarked "J. Whatman", all with gold-leaf fillet borders, some drawings extending to paper edge. (Some leaves with slight dust soiling, mainly to upper margin, a few pencil captions just trimmed.) Red straight-grained morocco gilt by C. Hering with his ticket, covers with gilt ruled borders, spine with gilt rosettes (slightly discoloured), gilt inner dentelles. Provenance: Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny (1755-1843; armorial bookplate).
A finely-executed and lavishly-presented florilegium. The Mr. Martyn of the title was the botanist and writer Thomas Martyn (1735-1825) who came to London in 1784. Each drawing has a pencil caption giving the plant's name; in some cases fuller descriptions are given, often on the verso, including the flower's country of origin, colouring and, in one case, the periodical from which the drawing was copied. Most of the plants illustrated are from Britain, but there are some exceptions, such as the Yuccas and the Oriental Teucrine. The plants are captioned as follows: Sublinear Aster, Short ray'd Aster, Heart leaved Aster, One flowered Aster, Indian Aster, Umbredded (?) Aster, Pyrenean Astor, Dingy Wellwood, Hairy Astor, Broad Pokeweed Virginia, Dragon Yucca, White Bryany, Dotted Astor, Curled leaved Astor, Canada Teucrine, Simple leaved Birdweed, Scattery Astor, Long beaked Cranebill, Racemore Aster, Scaly Treadwort, Glorious Yucca, Ventura Jerusalem Sage, Carolina Sun flower, Hyssop Scull cap, Common St. Johnswort and Oval Bookweed, Wavy leaved Aster, Oriental Teucrine, Bushy Aster, Tufty Swordleaf, Dotted Aloe, Common Willowstock, Long spiked Astor, Tender Eringo, Many flower'd Fair Thistle, Drooping leaved Astor, Pennelified (?) Bryone, Streamy Scullcap, Clustry Aster, Grape Aloe, Hairy Sheeps Rampion, Hairy disk'd Aster, Expanded Hopewort Cape of Good Hope, an unnamed flower from the Garden at Kew, Flaxey Astor, Embroider'd Cranebill, Thready Yucca, Thick Aloe [and] Clammy Aloe, Heathy Astor, Superb Tuftflower, Aloe leaved Yucca.