Wonderful original prints from:

Miller, John, An illustration of the sexual system of Linnaeus.

1770-1777

When published, this scarce Folio in three volumes contained 2 series of 104 full page engraved botanical plates, 1 beautifully hand-coloured in proof-state, the other in black and white with numbers and titles. As well there is a leaf text in Latin and English to accompany each plate of the black and white series.

Of the listings below an * indicates all three pieces are present (b&w, hand-coloured and text).  The (1) indicates colour only and (2) indicates b&w  and text.

The plates are on 350x525 mm pages of laid paper which can be dated to 1770 by watermark. The crown over the fleur-de-lis over GR on one side and J Whatman, on the other. This is one of the papers used by Thomas Jefferson for his architectural drawings in the 1770s.    http://www.iath.virginia.edu/wilson/TJA/tja.body5.html

Condition: plates are very good. There is pencil coding at bottom of each, by some previous owner. The b&w plates are scotch taped at the top to the corresponding text page. The text pages have one cut edge and one gold edge. The plates have never been cut. The text pages have some foxing and several have the imprint of the engraving developed over time.

The sets of 3 are $500 US. The sets of two or individual coloured plates  are $200US.

 

CRYPTOGAMIA  Algae e.g. fucus     Class 24   Order 3  * "The flowers within the fruit: or in so singular a mode as not to be perceptible to the eye"
DECANDRIA  Trigynia e.g. stellaria    Class 10  Order 3  (1) " Ten stamens in the Hermaphrodite flower"
DIANDRIA  Digynia   e.g.anthroxanthum    Class 2  Order 2   (2)  
DIOECIA Gynandria e.g. clutia    Class 22 Order 13  * "The male flowers on a different plant from the female"
GYNANDRIA triandria e.g. sistrichium    Class 20 Order 2  (2)  
HEXANDRIA Tetragynia e.g. petiveria    Class 6 Order 4 * "Six stamens in the Hermaphrodite flower"
MONOECIA Monandria e.g. zanichellia    Class 21 Order 1 * "The male and female flowers on the same plant"
 
OCTANDRIA  Digynia e.g.galenia    Class 8 Order 2  *(b&w engraving has been coloured also) "Eight stamens in the same flower with the Pistillum"
OCTANDRIA Tetragenia e.g. adoxa    Class 8 Order 4 * "Eight stamens in the same flower with the Pistillum"
TETRANDRIA Tetragynia e.g. Potamogeton    Class4   Order 3  * "Four stamens in the flower with the fruit"