Lot 90: JACQUIN, Nikolaus Joseph (1727-1817, Baron von). Florae Austriacae, sive Plantarum Selectarum in Austriae archiducatu sponte crescentium, icones, ad vivum coloratae, et descriptionibus, ac synonymis illustratae. Vienna: Leopold Johann Kaliwoda

JACQUIN, Nikolaus Joseph (1727-1817, Baron von). Florae Austriacae, sive Plantarum Selectarum in Austriae archiducatu sponte crescentium, icones, ad vivum coloratae, et descriptionibus, ac synonymis illustratae. Vienna: Leopold Johann Kaliwoda (vols. I-III) and Joseph Michael Gerold (vols. IV & V), 1773-1778.

5 volumes in 3, large 2° (465 x 280mm). Half-titles, titles with hand-coloured engraved views. 500 FINE HAND-COLOURED ENGRAVED PLATES, one folding, and one uncoloured plate, most by I. Adam after Franz von Scheidl. (Some plates shaved into blank plate area, 17 shaved touching the image, half-title of vol. II laminated with repaired 10cm. tear in upper blank margin, unobtrusive stamps skilfully removed from verso of titles and five plates, occasional very light spotting or browning.) Bound by J. Mackenzie c. 1831-37: dark green morocco gilt, covers with wide arabesque border, spine richly gilt and lettered, gilt-ruled turn-ins, gilt edges. Provenance: British Museum (stamps, 1831 duplicate stamps, mostly erased; sale Sotheby's 24 February 1831, lot 1003, £11) -- Beriah Botfield (sale Christie's, 30 March 1994, lot 69).

FIRST EDITION of one of the greatest works on Austrian flora. It was produced during the golden age of Viennese botanical books with the assistance of generous imperial patronage. Emperor Franz I appointed Jacquin curator of the gardens at Schönbrunn, which grew to be the most celebrated in Europe, and formed the basis of some of his majestic volumes. Jacquin considered Scheidl the best botanical illustrator of the day, and Scheidl was responsible for two of the topographical vignettes as well as most of the botanical plates here. This copy has been bound with volume I containing the titles and text of vols. I and II and plates numbered 1-145; vol. II contains the titles and text of vol. III and plate numbers 146-300; volume III contains the titles and text of vols. IV and V and plate numbers 301-392, 392*, 393-450 & A.T.1 - A.T.50. Nissen BBI 971; Great Flower Books p. 61; Dunthorne 151; Stafleu and Cowan 3247. (3)