BROWN, Robert

The Miscellaneous Botanical Works of Robert Brown ... Vol. III. Atlas of Plates

London, Published for the Ray Society by Robert Hardwicke, 1868.

Large quarto, [iv], 16 pages plus 38 engraved plates (11 folding).

Original flush-cut cloth-backed boards with the printed paper title-label to the front cover; covers lightly marked and a little worn at the edges; stitching slightly loose in places; a few minor signs of handling; a very good copy, with the plates in excellent condition.

The first ten plates, by Ferdinand Bauer, were first issued in the appendix to Matthew Flinders' 'A Voyage to Terra Australis' (1814) and are printed here from the original copper plates. Brown was the naturalist on the voyage, and collaborated closely with Bauer in much important work on the botany of Australia.

The remaining 28 plates are by Ferdinand Bauer, Franz Bauer (his brother), James De Carle Sowerby, George Brettingham Sowerby II (his nephew), and M.C. Curtis. All but one (Plate XXXIII, which was re-engraved for this edition) are from plates lent by the Linnean Society.

This atlas was issued to subscribers to the Ray Society as the third volume of its edition of Brown's works. The two octavo text volumes, in cloth, are not present here; they are readily and inexpensively available. The atlas, especially in its original binding of quarter cloth and papered boards in undisturbed condition, is a rarity.