THE GENUS ROSA

London: John Murray, 1910-1914. First Edition. Softcover. Plates strong and fresh; occasional paperclip impression at very top margin of some pages including plates; some pages loose or detached; light wear to wrappers, somewhat heavier wear to slipcases. Near Fine and quite scarce in original wrappers. Alfred Parsons. Folio (11" x 15") in printed wrappers housed in two green morocco-backed slipcases with chemises. The complete set of 25 individual parts of the most important work on roses in the twentieth century, illustrated with 132 chromolithograph plates after watercolours by Alfred Parsons, 87 black and white plates, and numerous illustrations in the text. RIX, THE ART OF THE BOTANIST, 1981: "The first great colour-printed book of the twentieth century … it still stands unrivalled, both as an account of the species and as a source of illustrations of wild roses." Ellen Willmott (1858 - 1934) was a celebrated English horticulturist, prominent member of the Royal Horticultural Society, one of the first two women to be admitted into the Linnaean Society, and one of the first recipients of the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1897. At the front of the chemise for the first volume is pasted an original and beautiful manuscript presentation dated September 1929 to William Adams Delano for work on the exhibitions for the International Flower Show. Delano was an American architect and a partner with Chester Holmes Aldrich in the firm of Delano & Aldrich. He designed many of the buildings at Yale University as well as the second-largest residence in the United States, Oheka, overlooking Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island for financier Otto Kahn. He was also the architect for the 1927 renovation to the White House, which later led to structural problems and rebuilding during the Truman Administration. There are many small drawings and tracings throughout this set on loose pieces of paper, possibly by Delano.