1880s Complete Set in Five Volumes of Familiar Wild Flowers - 200 Colour Illustrations

An absolutely beautiful complete series of Familiar Wild Flowers by F Edward Hulme. With 200 bright colour plate illustrations and in gorgeous bindings with hand painted flowers on the front boards. A wonderful set in very good condition. It is incredibly hard to find any copies of this edition, let alone a complete set.

With an armorial book plate belonging to Thomas Holland on the front paste down of Volume I. The shield is decorated with multiple fleur-de-lis surrounding a central lion rampant. The banner below reads "INJURIARUM OBLITUS" which is Latin for forgetting injuries or forgetting wrongs. Above the shield is a demi-lion in a ducal coronet. This copy will have belonged to Sir Thomas Erskine Holland, a highly distinguished British jurist and legal scholar. He is best known for his influential work The Elements of Jurisprudence (published in the same year that these Wild Flower books were published - 1880). This went onto become the standard legal textbook for decades. It would be interesting to research and find out more about Sir Thomas.

Hulme produced the five series of his Familiar Wild Flowers collection with 40 flowers described in detail in each volume, with an ornate decorative initial and footer and its own colour plate. The pages are clean and tightly bound. With scattered tanning and foxing to the pages and tissue guards - in particular to the blank white backs of the plates. With a tear across the bottom edge on a tissue guard in Volume I. Volume I has a cracked front hinge to reveal webbing but not effecting the binding which is tight and strong. The front free endpaper of Volume I has some chips along the fore-edge. With the above-mentioned armorial book plate, but no other writing or markings of previous ownership.

In striking green and gold bindings with the hand painted flowers on each. The boards are a work of art in themselves and being hand painted they are all unique. The green cloth covered boards have a gilt and black border on the front, with a blind stamped floral pattern in the middle of the rear board. Just some mild rubbing to the corners and spine ends - but minor. The gilt decoration and painted flowers on all volumes are as bright as when new and this set looks extremely eye-catching on display.

Your antique collection of Familiar Wild Flowers will be wrapped with great 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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Each book H 19 cm x W 13.5 cm, combined weight 3.2 kg. I dispatch worldwide daily from the UK. (There are just a very few countries which I am unable to ship to).

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

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