Flowers; Their Origin, Shapes, Perfumes, and Colours
Edinburgh: John Grant, 1906.
Fourth Edition. Hardcover. "Every day we are proving that 'man liveth not by bread alone;' and that sunny blue skies, laughing streams, and flower-bedecked fields are full of lofty and even spiritual teachings..." With covers as blossom-strewn as the "flower-bedecked fields" in its introductory pages, this popular turn-of-the-century study of floriculture winds together the warmly informative words of science writer John Ellor Taylor (1837-1895) with 32 delicately colored figures in eight plates by the English naturalist-illustrator James Sowerby (1757–1822), additionally illustrated in 161 woodcuts. Chapters include: The Old and New Philosophy of Flowers, The Geological Antiquity of Flowers and Insects, The Geographical Distribution of Flowers, The Structure of Flowering Plants, Relations Between Flowers and Their Physical Surroundings, Relations Betwen Flowers and the Wind, The Colours of Flowers, The External Shapes of Flowers, The Internal Shapes of Flowers, The Perfumes of Flowers, Social Flowers, Birds and Flowers, and The Natural Defences of Flowering Plants.
7 1/2" X 5 1/4". xxiv, 347pp. Bound in faint sky blue cloth over boards, with climbing, vining, and twining flowers stamped in black and red to upper board and spine, lettered in red. Mild wear to binding, with bumping to extremities, faint dust soiling, and sunning to spine. Bookplate of stage actress Ruth Knorr and producer and stager of the Miss America Pageant Arthur Knorr to front pastedown. Front hinge a touch tender. Binding remains sound. Pages are clean and unmarked. Illustrated with 32 colored figures among 8 plates by Sowerby and 161 woodcuts. Very good. Item #12905
Price: $125.00