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Title: 1790-91 BOTANIC GARDEN by ERASMUS DARWIN antique ILLUSTRATED by WILLIAM BLAKE

Description: [Darwin, Erasmus]
The Botanic Garden;
A Poem, in Two Parts.
Part I. Containing the Economy of Vegetation
Part II. The Loves of the Plants with Philosophical Notes
2 volumes in one, 2nd edition
Part I, London: printed for J. Johnson, 1791
Part II, London: printed by J. Jackson, 1790
engraved allegorical frontispieces, half-title to part II
17 engraved plates (including the 'Fertilization of Egypt' plate by William Blake after Henry Fuseli and the four Portland Vase plates and one plate folding),
adhesive tape residue to verso of initial frontispiece
, leaf Z4 misbound between Z1 and duplicate leaf Z1,
lacking Z3,
adhesive tape repairs to verso of directions to the binder/errata leaf,
some offsetting
20th-century light brown half calf, maroon morocco title label, scuff marks to upper compartment of spine
-Cf. Brockhaus Encyclopedia 1968, Vol. 4:
Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) composed scientific didactic poems in rhyming couplets, in which he presented Carl Linnaeus's botanical system and foreshadowed his grandson's (Charles Darwin's) views on heredity and natural selection.
Wide-margined copy.
Size: 8 3/4 by 10 3/4 inches
Text in English====
The Botanic Garden, a set of two poems written by Erasmus Darwin (a respected doctor, poet and naturalist as well as the grandfather of Charles Darwin)
His The Loves of the Plants is a poem told in four cantos from the perspective of the goddess of botany that revises and illustrates Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus’ classification scheme for plants.
Written in highly sexualized language, The Loves of the Plants can be cheekily described as a catalogue of the sex lives of plants. Darwin, worried that his medical reputation would suffer from the association with poetry, first published this volume anonymously in 1789.
In 1791, The Loves of the Plants was republished as the second volume of The Botanic Garden.
The Economy of Vegetation, also a poem in four cantos, each representing one of the four elements (earth, air, water, fire), is the first volume in Darwin’s The Botanic Garden.
Written in an effort to popularize science and the wonders of scientific discovery for the general public in Britain, this volume features philosophical notes (including a lengthy one on the Portland Vase, of which Wedgwood was producing copies at the time), original engravings by William Blake and an anti-slavery cameo by Josiah Wedgwood (founder of Wedgwood pottery and also grandfather to Charles Darwin).
While this set of poems may perpetuate gender stereotypes in its depiction of the sex lives of plants, what is notable is Darwin’s anti-slavery stance and support of the French revolution which were both unpopular views for conservative Britain in the 18th century.
As well, one can see fledgling evidence of the evolutionary theme his grandson would pick up on and expand into his famous theory of evolution.

Reserve: $1,000.00

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1790-91 BOTANIC GARDEN by ERASMUS DARWIN antique ILLUSTRATED by WILLIAM BLAKE

Name: 1790-91 BOTANIC GARDEN by ERASMUS DARWIN antique ILLUSTRATED by WILLIAM BLAKE
Brand: William Blake
SKU: 228356820
Price: 500 USD
Availability: InStock