These prints are from Nature-Printed British Ferns: Being Figures and Descriptions of the Species and Varieties of Ferns Found in the United Kingdom by Thomas Moore. Published by Bradbury & Evans, London 1863.3. The prints in this lot comprise:Lastrea Filix-Mas - Var. Palacea;Lastrea Filix-Mas - Var. Elongata;Lastrea Filix-Mas - Var. Pumila;Lastrea Filix-Mas - Var. Cristata.These beautifully illustrated colour prints used Bradbury's innovative “nature-printing” process after drawings by Henry Riley Bradley. The process involved pressing fern leaves into metal plates, which were then used in printing. The resulting images are in slight relief, intricately detailed and so especially suited for botanical publications. Henry Bradbury learned about this process from the imperial printer Alois Auer in Vienna. Moore's botanical catalogue of ferns was the first book illustrated by Bradbury and the first nature-printed book to appear in England. Size: ?approx 7.5in x 9in (19cm x 23.5cm)

Occasional spotting or handling marks - please see images