1883 Familiar Wild Flowers / Illustrated Victorian Antique Book (Fifth Series)

A beautiful, antique edition of Familiar Wild Flowers by F Edward Hulme. With thirty-nine bright colour plate illustrations, and in a gorgeous binding with hand-painted flowers on the front board. Undated, but published in 1883 by Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., London. Overall in very good condition - with a few condition points to note, detailed below.

Hulme produced five series of his Familiar Wild Flowers over the years and this is a fifth series collection with forty flowers described in detail, each with an ornate decorative initial and footer and its own colour plate*. Each volume stands on their own individually.

* Has one colour plate missing - for the Yellow Rocket. Otherwise all the colour plates are present and in very good order.

Inside the pages are clean and tightly bound. There is spotting to the frontispiece tissue guard, and a closed tear to the fore-edge of one other. Has a scuff to the bottom of the dark-brown front paste down (see photos). With an inked inscription from 1945 on the verso of the front free endpaper. Has a partially cracked hinge at the beginning - but in no way effecting the binding of the text block which is good and strong. A little spotting to the early pages.

In a striking green and gold binding with hand-painted flowers on the front board. The boards are a work of art in themselves, and with each copy being hand-painted they are all unique. With gilt and black border on the front and spine. Very slight rubbing to the cloth on the spine ends. Has a few light marks to the back. The gilt and decoration on the front remain superb, whilst there is a little fading to the gilt on the spine. An extremely eye-catching book on display.

Your antique copy of Familiar Wild Flowers will be wrapped with care in tissue and ribbon* and sent well packaged with tracking and insurance. I am always happy to add a gift card with a message to the parcel.

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H 19.5 cm x W 14 cm, 164 pages, 0.65 kg.

* If you would prefer for your book not to be decoratively wrapped and sent simply in the full protective packaging please add a note to the order.

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