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CURTIS, William (1746-1799), and others, editors
The Botanical Magazine: or, the flower garden displayed
London: Stephen Couchman [and others], 1787-2007. 'Botanical Magazine' dedications). 213 volumes in 192 bound vols. (vols. 1-208; 4 general index volumes; 1 vol. of 'Botanical Magazine' dedications), octavo (8 9/10 x 5 5/8 inches approx). 133 (of 134) portraits, 11,332 plates (11,328 coloured, 1236 folded, 1 double-page, 144 unnumbered), most hand-coloured engravings or lithographs, extra-illustrated with the cancelled part III in vol.208 (with incorrect pagination, but with the same plates as the replacement part issued in early 2008). (Volume 179 lacking the title, portrait, dedication and index leaves). Near-uniform full calf (6 vols) or half calf (186 vols.), spines gilt in six compartments with raised bands, morocco lettering-pieces in the second and fourth compartments.
A beautiful and important work which has taken 220 years to assemble: a very fine and magnificently bound complete run of one of the oldest scientific periodicals of its kind with hand-coloured engravings. "The reputation of the Magazine has always resided in the accuracy of its portrayal of plants. This pictorial record of garden and greenhouse plants from the temperate and tropical regions of the world has no rival.." (Desmond p.7).
William Curtis had witnessed from personal experience that his clients refused to buy folio pictures of unassuming plants (vide. his Flora Londinensis) but he felt that they would subscribe to an octavo work which pictured the showy plants that filled their gardens: from this premise was born the Botanical Magazine in February 1787. The work was immediately successful, and the early volumes were quickly re-issued. The bound volumes of the present set comprises First Series: vols. 1-42 in 21 vols; New Series (1st), vols. 43-53 in 11 vols; New Series (2nd), vols. 54-70 in 17 vols; Third Series, vols. 71-130 in `50 volumes; Fourth Series, vols. 131-146 in 16 volumes; [Fifth] series, vols. 147-184 in 38 volumes; [Sixth] Series, vols. 185-208 in 24 volumes, and 3 volumes of General Indexes (to vols. 1-107, by Edmund Tonks published in 1883; to vols. 1-130, by Hemsley published in 1906; and vols. 1-170, by Chittenden published in 1956), a 1 vol. fifteen year index (to vols. 185-199, by Pat Halliday and Brian Mathew published in 2002) and 1 vol. Curtis's Botanical Magazine Dedications 1827-1927 compiled by Ernest Nelmes and William Cuthbertson, published in about 1931.
This set, undoubtedly the finest available, and probably the finest in existance, runs to over 19 feet of shelf space, with bindings that are the work of generations of the finest available craftsmen. Just as the enlightened members of the family which collected this great set will have reflected the fashions of their own time, so, the bindings, whilst forming a harmonious whole, also show the subtle variations in tooling, leather and marbling that mark them as products of their time.
The contents also show the influence of the era in which they were written: William Curtis edited the work until his death in 1799 (vols.1-13), John Sims then took over until 1826. Subsequent editors have included William Jackson Hooker and Joseph Dalton Hooker, Otto Stapf, Arthur Hill, W.B. Turrill and others. The plates offer an historical panorama of the work of the most prominent botanical artists of the day: the majority of the plates up to volume 43 are by Sydenham Edwards, with later contributions from James Sowerby, John Curtis, William Jackson Hooker and, for much of the second half of the 19th century, Walter Hood Fitch. His nephew John Nugent Fitch continued to produce plates after his uncle's retirement, and he was succeeded by Matilda Smith, Lilian Snelling, Stella Ross-Craig and others. The final hand-coloured plates appeared in vol. 164 (which took five years to publish because of the difficulties in getting the plates hand-coloured). For a brief period the magazine appeared under the title of the Kew Magazine, but common-sense prevailed and the original name was soon re-adopted and continues today.
Great Flower Books p. 83; Nissen BBI 2350; Stafleu & Cowan TL2 1290
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#7661 $200,000.00 
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© 2002-2005 Donald A. Heald
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