Search Results: Botanical Books (Bibliographies) from Wykeham Books

Sotheby, London, auction catalogue for the sales held on 27th - 28th April, 1987. Cloth with mounted colour illustration on front board (as issued), 4to,. 425 pp, profusely illustrated with colour plates,. 388 lots. The catalogue introduction claims this to be "the finest collection of botanical colour-plate books ever offered at auction". Robert de Belder, a diamond merchant, who bought and restored the Kalmthout Arboretum in Belgium in the 1950s, built up the greatest private collection of botanical books in the world, securing many of the very best copies from the Arpad Plesch collection, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Library, virtually the entire rare book collection of the Horticultural Society of New York, as well as many other distinguished collections. His collection was initially offered for sale en bloc without success, before being acquired by Quaritch who finally consigned the colour-plate books to auction - in the process revolutionising price levels for this sort of… Read More

Sotheby Parke Bernet Publications, first editions, sale dates 16th and 17th June 1975, 17th and 18th November 1975, and 15th and 16th March, 1976. 3 vols, printed boards, large 8vo,. frontispiece, (x), 251 + frontispiece, (viii), 265 + frontispieces, (viii), 209 pp, ills. throughout,. 863 lots The lavishly illustrated auction catalogues for one of the great botanical library sales of the 20th century. The catalogue gives references to Nissen for illustrated works, Pritzel for unillustrated works, and generally adds the Stafleu and Henrey number. Additional references are given where a point is in dispute, or where they add special information. Collations are given in cases where Sotheby's could not find an easily accessible description of a particular book. Part III includes a full index of provenances, an addenda and a list of corrigenda. From the introduction: "..the collection of botanical books which [Arpad Plesch] built up for the Stiftung fur Botanik is particularly strong in books on… Read More

Sotheby, London, auction catalogue for the sales held on 27th - 28th April, 1987. Cloth with mounted colour illustration on front board (as issued), 4to,. 425 pp, profusely illustrated with colour plates,. 388 lots. The catalogue introduction claims this to be "the finest collection of botanical colour-plate books ever offered at auction". Robert de Belder, a diamond merchant, who bought and restored the Kalmthout Arboretum in Belgium in the 1950s, built up the greatest private collection of botanical books in the world, securing many of the very best copies from the Arpad Plesch collection, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Library, virtually the entire rare book collection of the Horticultural Society of New York, as well as many other distinguished collections. His collection was initially offered for sale en bloc without success, before being acquired by Quaritch who finally consigned the colour-plate books to auction - in the process revolutionising price levels for this sort of… Read More

Arcade, Bruxelles,first edition, 1973. Cloth, mounted leather label on frint board, 4to, 31 cm. 517 pp, 34 colour plates, portrait, text ills. An excellent bibliographical catalogue of the Plesch Collection, the finest private library of botanical books ever assembled. Very Good in a used and slightly worn dustwrapper in a Near Very Good slipcase.