CANDOLLE, Augustin Pyramus de.

Icones Plantarum Galliae Rariorum nempè incertarum aut nondum delineatarum. Paris, 1808. Imperial 4to. With 50 engraved plates, designed by Turpin (43) and Poiteau (7), and engraved by Plée and V. Plée fils. Modern half black morocco.

      viii, 16 pp. BMC NH, p. 310; Cat. Lindley Libr., p. 70; GFB, p. 53; Nissen, BBI 322; Plesch, p. 170; Pritzel 1471; Stafleu & Cowan 989; DSB III, pp. 43-45. First and only edition of the only published instalment of a work on French botany by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778-1841). Candolle was a well-known botanist, author of the famous Liliaceae . He undertook botanical expeditions already at the age of 14. Growing up Candolle became acquainted with important natural scientists and botanists, such as Jean Pierre Vaucher and Horace-Bénédict de Saussure. He lived in Paris from 1800 until 1808, when he was called to Montpellier to the chair of botany at the École de Médecine and the Faculté de Sciences. In 1816 he accepted a chair in natural history in Geneva. Candolle is the author of nearly 180 memoirs and other works, and at his death he left some forty unfinished manuscripts. "The world's botanists have shown their admiration of and gratitude to the Genevan naturalist by dedicating more than 300 plants to his memory: one family (Candolleaceae) and two genera (Candollea and Candollina) have been named for him" (DSB). Engraved armorial bookplate of Count Goblet d'Alviella. Very good copy, upper right corner of last 30 plates sl. dam. not approaching the printed image, last leaf backed with paper. Very good copy, of a well illustrated flora by a major French botanist.