Lot 151
Don, George. Herbarium Britannicum, consisting of Fasciculi of Dried British Plants, with their Appropriate Names and Particular Habits Annexed, 4 [of 9] parts only, comprising nos. I and VII-IX, each with printed title and mounted dried specimens, numbered 1-25 and 151-225, the specimens with printed captions, and a further un-numbered folio with 20 specimens of grass, each titled in manuscript, some browning and spotting, original publishers limp boards, soiled, spines chipped, ties, some lacking, folio, Edinburgh: Neill and Company, 1804-1805
RARE. George Don (1764-1814) lived with his wife Caroline in Forfar, Scotland, where they ran a market garden that grew to become a botanic garden. John Edward Smith referred to it as one of the finest collections of hardy plants in the United Kingdom. Don published Herbarium Britannicum between 1804 and 1813, including three new species. It remains extremely scarce, with only a few complete sets known. We are grateful to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh for this information.
