In the natural history department, we focus on the great flower and bird books of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, particularly the work of artists such as Audubon, Catesby, Elliott, Gould, and Redoute. These books are not only works of art in their own right, but also provide a valuable record of many species sadly extinct.
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Natural History
Contact Julian MacKenzie or Bernard Shapero for more information about Natural History at Shapero Rare Books.
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Group of six insects, copper engraved plates with fine original colour, showing the metamorphosis of butterflies, moths and other flying insects. Framed and glazed, overall size: 31.6cm by 46.7cm.
£4,000 -
First edition. 8vo. Hand-coloured pictorial title-page, hand-coloured presentation page, 10 fine hand-coloured lithograph plates, text printed in red with decorative borders of grasses printed in gold. Contemporary green morocco gilt, covers with fancy gilt borders and decorative gilt centre panel, panelled spine in 6 compartments, red morocco lettering piece with gilt to second, others richly gilt, raised bands, all edges gilt.
£1,800 -
First edition. Plate volume only, large landscape folio (49 x 66 cm), printed title-page, 17 hand-coloured lithographed plates by G. Mützel, heightened with gum arabic, unbound as issued in original half cloth portfolio (worn), plates clean and fresh.
£10,000 -
2 volumes, 4to., 87 leaves of original specimens of flowers, grasses and shrubs (some slightly defective, as usual), arranged 2 per page, most with pencil captions and or printed labels, contemporary green half morocco by W.Hickman, Northampton, spines gilt in compartments, spines and extremities worn, splits to joints.
£500 -
First edition, nine volumes, including supplement, large 4to, additional vignette title and 723 lithographed plates (721 hand-coloured), after and by J.G. Keulemans, J. Wolf, E. Neale, and A. Thorburn, uniformly bound in contemporary tan half morocco gilt, a very attractive collection.
£17,500 -
Large 8vo, various dried plant and flower specimens mounted onto approximately 114 leaves, each titled and numbered in manuscript, all in fine condition, leaf 22 lacks its dried flower specimen, housed green boards with black ties, corner of upper board broken; overall a fine collection of dried flowers.
£1,250 -
First edition, 8vo (16 x 13 cm), 20 chromolithographed plates including frontispiece; marbled endpapers, bound in full contemporary calf gilt, spine lavishly gilt decorated and lettered, red morocco label, raised bands; xvi, 359 pp, some very minor spotting to endpapers; else a very good copy.
£750 -
4 volumes, folio (44 x 33.5 cm), 420 engraved plates by Poiteau and Turpin, printed in colours and finished by hand by Bouquet, Leuleu, Gabriel, Massard, Bocourt, Legrand, Allais, Rodrigue and others, 3 plain plates. Contemporary green half morocco gilt, top edge gilt, others uncut, some light spotting to text, a few plates with light toning and spotting, generally clean and fresh, a very handsome set.
£55,000 -
Thick 4to; 2 vols in one with continuous pagination, 503 pages, includes title-page of vol. II (often lacking); 61 hand-coloured plates (including two numbered 19), the occasional spot and finger-mark to margins, otherwise very good; contemporary full maroon straight-grained morocco, with blind-stamped and gilt-decorated panels to boards, gilt titles and gilt-decorated spine panels, all edges gilt, replaced endpapers, else near fine and most attractive.
£3,000 -
Large folio (60 x 45 cm). Title page on brown paper, 12 hand-coloured lithographed plates of flowers, each captioned. Bound in recent calf backed mottled boards; overall a very attractive album.
£12,500
