GREW, Nehemiah (1641-1712). The Anatomy of Plants, London: W. Rawlins, 1682, 2°, FIRST COMPLETE EDITION, 83 engraved plates, 5 double-page, and 2 extra plates, making 85 in total (hand-written accession number on lower margin of dedication leaf), contemporary calf (rebacked preserving old spine, inner hinges broken, stitching perished). [Horblit 43b; LeFanu p.98; Nissen BBI 758; Plesch 302; Pritzel 3877; Sparrow 88; Wing G1945] Provenance: British Museum duplicate (stamp on verso of final plate); Bernard Quaritch (collation note on rear pastedown); JCL

Details

GREW, Nehemiah (1641-1712). The Anatomy of Plants, London: W. Rawlins, 1682, 2°, FIRST COMPLETE EDITION, 83 engraved plates, 5 double-page, and 2 extra plates, making 85 in total (hand-written accession number on lower margin of dedication leaf), contemporary calf (rebacked preserving old spine, inner hinges broken, stitching perished). [Horblit 43b; LeFanu p.98; Nissen BBI 758; Plesch 302; Pritzel 3877; Sparrow 88; Wing G1945] Provenance: British Museum duplicate (stamp on verso of final plate); Bernard Quaritch (collation note on rear pastedown); JCL

Lot Essay

Grew, the great contemporary of Malpighi, collected his 5 discourses on botany and chemistry to form The Anatomy of Plants, containing his key statement of the sexual function of flowers. The plates are microscopic studies of plant stems and roots.

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