170

Thornton. THE PHILOSOPHY OF BOTANY. 4 Vols. 1810.

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:2,000.00 USD Estimated At:4,000.00 - 7,000.00 USD
Thornton. THE PHILOSOPHY OF BOTANY. 4 Vols. 1810.
[Botany]. Robert John Thornton. THE PHILOSOPHY OF BOTANY, Being Botanical and Philosophical Extracts. 4 Vols: 2 Text volumes & 2 plate volumes. Lon: T. Bensley for White, Johnson and Co., Longman and Co., et. al., 1810. 202 plates. Dunthorne 303, Sitwell p143, Nissen BBI 1955, ESTC T226335, N62425. ++ Printed title leaf of text volumes: ?Botanical Extracts: Or the Philosophy of Botany.? Vol I?s prtd title is preceded by the engraved series title ( ?The Philosophy of Botany??) Vol I: [Title leaf], [i]-xii pp, [Contents leaf], 16 pp, [fly-title leaf], 17-308pp. Vol II: [title leaf], 309-625, ads [1] pp. Text volumes have 2 plates only: engr series title (Vol I only) and 1 botanical plate in Vol II. Vol II dampstained (mostly affecting its botanical plate and nearby pages). ++ Plate volume I?s main engraved title: A NEW ILLUSTRATION OF THE SEXUAL SYSTEM OF LINNAEUS. The 2-sheet engraved series title reads: ?The Philosophy Of BOTANY, Being Botanical, and Philosophical Extracts, Including, The Genera of Exotic and Indigenous Plants that are to be met in Great Britain; Arranged according to the Reformed System, by John Thornton, M.D?" ?Vol I? appears on the main engr title, but 3 preliminary leaves have ?Part II? printed in their lower margin. No other indications of Volume or Part number. 92 plates: 77 plates illustrating/diagramming flowering plants, 2 folding plates of the tea industry,10 plates of diagrams/classification schemes, frontis, and 2 engr titles on 3 plates. The number of plates actually present appears to vary between copies. Although 4 plates called for by Dunthorne are not present here (Calla Ethiopica, Palma Christi, Sweet Violet, and Dog Rose), this does contain 18 botanical plates not included on Dunthorne?s list. One of those 18 plates is green tea, which is followed by 3 of the plates which Dunthorne describes as sometimes being present (Coffee Arabica, Gathering of Tea, Firing of Tea). The frontis in ?New Illustration of the Sexual System of Linnaeus? is Cupid Inspiring Plants with Love. [31] printed leaves: 3-8pp, [1-leaf dedication to Queen Charlotte], [3] leaves prefacing the diagrams/classification schemes, and 24 fly-titles. The plates are mostly engraved (largely stipple and line engravings), although several are aquatinted and 2 are mezzotints. The order in which the plates appear here differs significantly from the order in which they appear on Dunthorne?s list. The fly-title for Class XIX is misbound after the fly-title for Class XX, but before Class XXI. Short tear to margin of 2 plates (Queen Flower and Sweet Pea). ++ Plate Volume [2]?s title: ELEMENTARY BOTANICAL PLATES, Illustrative of the Science of Botany? Contains 108 plates: 73 botanical plates (1 folding), engraved dedication, frontis, 5 Biblically themed plates, 2 volcanic eruptions, 1 Cathedral, & 25 ports only. (Without the plate that carries double port of Priestley and L?Avoisier, but otherwise the same ports called for by Dunthorne, plus the port of the Queen and the port of Rev. Doctor Jackson). The plate list lists calls for a total of 36 ports. The other ports were probably never issued; a footnote states that ?This list would have been greatly increased, and the portraits of Sennebrier, Dr. Stokes?) The port of Linnaeus appears between the ports of Vaillant and Rousseau, and the port of the Queen appears immediately after the Preface leaf. Elementary Botanical Plates? frontis is ?Cupid, Flora, Ceres, and Esculapius, Honouring the Bust of Linnaeus.? The volcanic eruptions are Vesuvius and Mount Aetna. [title leaf], [list of ports], [3]-12pp, [preface leaf], [prtd dedication leaf], [3 leaves preceding ports of botanists], [7 fly-titles]. Dedication leaf and list of ports transposed by binder. Possible later issue, with the ?Plan of this Work? (pp7-12).