The British Herbal: An History of Plants and Trees, Natives of Britain, Cultivated for Use, or Raised for Beauty. By John Hill, M.D

London,: Printed for T. Osborne and J. Shipton, J. Hodges ... (a.o.)., 1756-(1757).. [iv], 533, [iii, index] pp. Tall folio (28 x 42 cm.). Contemporary full marbled calf, spine with 6 raised bands (top & bottom of spine slightly worn; corners slightly bumbed and partly slightly worn); gilt lettered (slightly faded) on red morocco label. With a fine allegorical engraved frontispiece by H. Roberts after a drawing by Samuel Wale, title printed in red and black & with a fine title-engraving by C. Grigion after S. Wale, and 75 plain engraved plates by various artists, depicting about 1500 plant portraits. ¶ First edition. A good copy of this renown and popular British Herbal. The copper plates are in sharp impressions, and not ruined by being crudely coloured as in the coloured copies. John Hill, British apothecary and naturalist was the author of many compilations dealing with botany, horticulture. medicine and even quackery, and a somewhat controversial figure in the history of British botany. He was, partial, responsible for the introduction the Linnean nomenclature in England. This was one of his best works. "Despite his vain and quarrelsome disposition and indulgence in sarcastic wordy battles, Hill was a man of scientific ability. One of his seventy-six works, ... is nomenclaturally important because he reinstated pre-Linnaean generic names wich Linnaeus had suppressed… Hill frequently criticized Linnaean method as he justified his own" (Blunt 170). Stafleu/Cowan, 2769; Henry, 798-799; Pritzel, 4063 (coloured copy).-- (Some scattered worm traces in the margins of the first and last 5/6 leaves; outer cor