Heading:
Author: Verschaffelt, Ambroise, editor
Title: Nouvelle Iconographie des Camellias Contenant les Figures et la Description des Plus Rares, des Plus Nouvelles et des Plus Belles Vvarie?te?s de ce Genre.
Place Published: Gand [Ghent]
Publisher:A. Verschaffelt
Date Published: 1849-1860
Description:

10 volumes bound in 5. Illustrated with 480 hand colored lithographed plates. Half title, annual title and index of plates in each volume, some volumes with original monthly wrappers bound in. (4to) 25x16 cm (9½x6½") bound in quarter brown morocco and marbled boards, green morocco spine labels with gilt lettering.

10 (of 13) volumes, including the years 1849-56, 1859-60. Lacking the annuals for 1848, 1857 and 1858. each volume contains 48 luminous hand-colored plates. "The work is one of the rarest and greatest of the nineteenth-century camellia iconographies. The Verschaffelts were a family of nurserymen specializing in camellias and published this book really as a catalogue of newly introduced species and recently developed hybrids which were available from their nurseries" (De Belder). Published in monthly parts between 1848 and 1860, with each issue containing four plates. Complete and even nearly complete sets are very scarce, especially with complete plates in such good condition

Light wear and soiling to bindings, rubbing to extremities, some spine labels peeling at edges, front board of volume 1855-1856 detached but present; some volumes with private library stamps on preliminary pages, light occasional foxing to tissue guards, light toning and occasional bit of offsetting to plates, all plates present with vibrant colors and no tears; very good.