GEEL Pierre Corneille van FLORE DES SERRES et des jardins de Paris ou Collection de plantes, remarquables pour leur utilité, leur élégance, leur éclat ou leur nouveauté; consistant en six cents planches soigneusement lithographiées et coloriées, accompagnées d’un texte particulier pour chaque plante, ses caractères générique et spécifique ainsi que sa synonymie, son histoire, l’époque de sa découverte, celle de son introduction dans nos contrées et dans nos jardins, ses usages, soit dans les arts, soit l’économie domestique et la médecine; enfin les différens modes de culture qui réussissent le mieux dans nos climats pour lui faire parcourir complètement toutes les périodes de la vie végétale…

Pritzel, 10739 ; Nissen, BBI, 225 ; Great flower books, éd. 1956, 84.

Splendid publication, issued on fine wove vélin paper, and magnificently illustrated with 600 species on 599 lithographed plates, all handcoloured (except one).

The uncoloured plate is Nelumbium Speciosum or Indian Lotus. This species has received a particular treatment and is present twice in the book: one showing the plant as such (uncoloured), the other one depicts the large blossom (coloured).

The collation of our copy is identical to the one described in the Arpad collection : “The title calls for 600 plates, but less than the full number are often found… A note on p. 10 of the index explains that Uvaria chamoe and Bombax buonopozensis are separately listed, but found on the same plate [bound here in volume I]” (Plesch, 278).

The plates, previously published in Brussels under the title Sertum Botanicum, are based on the fine drawings by the botanical artist G. Severeyns – the lithographer is Bruggraaff – ,who actively contributed to other eminent publications such as the Flore des serres et des jardins de l’Europe.

The present publication is the very rare Paris edition and is rarely found complete with all of its wonderful, describing and showing in detail the most beautiful flowers then cultivated in Paris.

Written by a Society of Botanists the Flore des Serres de Paris constitutes one of the most impressive botanical French works of the first half of the 19th century.

Bound it a the end of the last volume is the extensive index, making the use of the publication easy as all the plates are placed in alphabetical order.

A small waterstain in the 6th volume, else a fine copy.