PRATT, Anne. The Flowering Plants, Grasses, Sedges, and Ferns, of Great Britain, and their allies the Club Mosses, Pepperworts, and Horsetails. London: Frederick Warne and Co. [nd, 1870s].
8vo. 6 volumes. Publisher's green cloth, elaborate borders in gilt, red, black and gilt lettering to front covers, gilt lettering to spines; pp. viii, 288; viii, 355; x, 410; viii, 328; viii, 368; x, 319; 314 colour-lithographic plates with one monochrome plate; a little bumping to extremities, a little foxing, plates generally clean, binding very bright, very good.
New edition (first published in 5 volumes in 1855-66 by SPCK, with a 6 volume edition following). Anne Pratt (1806 - 1893) was probably the most successful female botanist of her time and her Flowering Plants was a major work which did much to interest the general public in the British flora. The illustrations are the author's own work. Being a woman and a self-taught artist, she was not taken seriously by the botanical establishment. For instance, Wilfred Blunt suggests that her highly attractive illustrations "no doubt owe a good deal to the artists of the firm of W. Dickes and Co. who redrew them on the stones" (The Art of Botanical Illustration), conveniently ignoring the fact that this speculative criticism could be made of any artist who does not do their own engraving. It is impossible now to see the drawings and not be impressed by her picturesque flair and compositional sense.
#2122599