Dictionnaire des sciences naturelles: Planches Botanique: Vegetaux Monocotyledons

Very good copy of the Botany Monocots volume from Cuvier's huge Dictionary of Natural Sciences

Complete with all 82 hand-coloured stipple engraved plates of monocotyledon plants

Includes palm tree, date, banana, tulip, iris, amaryllis, daffodil, agave, fritillary, maize, ginger, strelitzia, vanilla, cypripedium and epidendrium orchids, etc.

With the heartbreaking caption to the amaryllis plate: Turpin fils pinxt. Mort le 21 Aout 1821, age de 18 ans et 6 jours. "Drawn by Turpin Junior. Died 21 August 1821, aged 18 years and 6 days."

All the illustrations drawn and directed by Pierre Jean François Turpin (apart from one by his son) and engraved by Louis Massard, Madame Massard, F. Plée, Carnonkel, Dion, Madame Joyeau, Monsaldi, Gelée. etc.

Vegetaux Monocotyledons: Title page, 3pp (table of plates), 82 handcoloured engraved plates of monocot plants.

Part of Cuvier's massive Dictionary of Natural Sciences that was published in 60 text volumes and 13 plate volumes from 1816 to 1830.

Pierre Jean François Turpin (1775-1840) was a French botanist and illustrator. He is considered one of the greatest floral and botanical illustrators during the Napoleonic Era and after.

Brown cloth binding, gilt title on spine, "Library of Congress" endpapers, book block solid. Stipple engraved plates mostly clean apart from overall slight dustiness and age-toning, mostly under tissue guards, hand-colour vivid and bright.

Very good copy of this increasingly rare series by one of giants of botanical illustration.