Lot 183: BATEMAN, James (1811-1897).A Monograph of Odontoglossum. London: L. Reeve & Co., [1864-]1874.

BATEMAN, James (1811-1897). A Monograph of Odontoglossum. London: L. Reeve & Co., [1864-]1874. Large 2° (556 x 383 mm). Half-title. 30 hand-colored lithographic plates by W.H. Fitch (some scattered light browning and staining). Contemporary half morocco, gilt-lettered on front cover (a bit worn and rubbed). FIRST EDITION of Bateman's monograph on the Odontoglossum. Bateman, a pioneer of orchid culture, organized and paid for collectors to work in Mexico and South America, publishing two other lavish works on orchids (The Orchidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala, 1837-1843; and A Second century of orchidaceous plants, 1867), and was one of the first to advocate "cool" orchid cultivation. "Fitch (1817-1892), the most prolific of all botanical artists, was a typical product of the Victorian era, able and industrious... [He] was a young apprentice to a firm of Glasgow calico designers when Hooker... first made his acquaintance... In 1841, when Hooker was appointed Director of the Royal Gardens at Kew, he took [Fitch] south with him... Some idea of Fitch's gigantic industry can be gauged from the [f]act that 9960 published drawings by him are recorded" (Blunt). Great Flower Books, p.49; Nissen BBI 88; The Orchid Observed 20; Stafleu & Cowan TL2 343.