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Robert Furber, nurseryman and gardener at Kensington, has the honor of having his name on ‘Twelve Months of Flowers,’ a set of 12 hand-colored copper-engraved plates published in 1730. Each print measures 16 inches by 12 inches. The rare set has a $40,000-$50,000 estimate. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.

Travel around the world at PBA Galleries’ April 1 auction

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Robert Furber, nurseryman and gardener at Kensington, has the honor of having his name on ‘Twelve Months of Flowers,’ a set of 12 hand-colored copper-engraved plates published in 1730. Each print measures 16 inches by 12 inches. The rare set has a $40,000-$50,000 estimate. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.
Robert Furber, nurseryman and gardener at Kensington, has the honor of having his name on ‘Twelve Months of Flowers,’ a set of 12 hand-colored copper-engraved plates published in 1730. Each print measures 16 inches by 12 inches. The rare set has a $40,000-$50,000 estimate. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.

SAN FRANCISCO – Before panning for gold in the hills of California, planting rice in Ecchu Province of Japan, or growing flowers like those cultivated in Kensington Gardens three centuries ago, you will want to check out PBA Galleries’ Americana-Travel-History Maps-Prints auction on April 1. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

More than 400 lots of Americana, maps and prints will be sold beginning at 1 p.m. Pacific.

Among the more colorful highlights is a set of a dozen hand-colored copper-engraved plates titled Twelve Months of Flowers. The set of 12 unbound plates, 16 inches by 12 inches on 18 1/4- by 14-inch sheets, were published in London in 1730. They depict still-life engravings of flowers grown by Robert Furber at Kensington. The artist was Pieter Casteels and the engraver was Henry Fletcher. The trio produced the prints for a publication that was conceived as both a commercial venture – to sell bound sets of the engravings, and as a high quality seed catalog for Furber`s nursery at Kensington. The rare set is expected to raise $40,000-$50,000.

Capt. W.A. Jackson’s 1851 Map of the Mining District of California should hit pay dirt. The hand-colored lithographed map measures 22 3/4 inches by 19 3/4 inches and is laid down on modern linen backing. Jackson, a mining engineer who had personally explored the region, delineated the major mining centers of 1849 and the road and trails leading to the gold fields. The attractive and elaborate map has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate.

A rare 19th-century Japanese map of the rice fields of Yada village in the Fushiki region of Ecchu Province is also offered at PBA Galleries’ auction. The ink and watercolor on paper map is 58 1/4 inches by 98 1/2 inches and has a $12,000-$15,000 estimate. The lot also includes a rare 1991 geography book about the region. The very same map is reproduced in the book.

For more information about PBA Galleries visit the Web site www.pbagalleries.com or phone 415-989-2665.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

A famous diagram showing the arrangements for transporting slaves on the slave ship Brookes folds out of a 155-page British abstract of evidence in a case to abolish the slave trade. The 1791 bound volume has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.
A famous diagram showing the arrangements for transporting slaves on the slave ship Brookes folds out of a 155-page British abstract of evidence in a case to abolish the slave trade. The 1791 bound volume has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.

A superb facsimile of the Declaration of Independence is the highlight of a complete nine-volume set ‘American Archives.’ The compilation of important American documents and records, published by Peter Force from 1837 to 1848, has a $12,000-$18,000 estimate. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.
A superb facsimile of the Declaration of Independence is the highlight of a complete nine-volume set ‘American Archives.’ The compilation of important American documents and records, published by Peter Force from 1837 to 1848, has a $12,000-$18,000 estimate. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.

An ink and watercolor on paper map of Yada village in the Fushiki region, Ecchu province, in Japan, designates a plan for rice fields. The rare map, which dates to the mid-19th century, measures 58 1/4 inches by 98 1/2 inches. It carries a $12,000-$15,000. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.
An ink and watercolor on paper map of Yada village in the Fushiki region, Ecchu province, in Japan, designates a plan for rice fields. The rare map, which dates to the mid-19th century, measures 58 1/4 inches by 98 1/2 inches. It carries a $12,000-$15,000. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.

W.A. Jackson’s 1851 ‘Map of the Mining District of California’ was considered to be the best map of the gold region published at that time. The large-scale map measures 22 3/4 by 19 3/4 inches. It is expected to sell for $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.
W.A. Jackson’s 1851 ‘Map of the Mining District of California’ was considered to be the best map of the gold region published at that time. The large-scale map measures 22 3/4 by 19 3/4 inches. It is expected to sell for $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.