This beautiful antique two volume set of The Little Botanist are what would have been volumes 16 and 17 in a collection of 19 books introducing young people to the natural world. I've only ever seen the bird book in this set before so I'm excited to have the two books that make up the Little Botanist. They were published in 1835 by John Harris and both books are half bound in leather with cloth boards. One volume is more maroon in colour, whilst the other is a brighter red. There is marbling to the text block edges.
They're in remarkable condition considering they're almost 190 years old. There is significant wear to the corners and board edges, with some loss to the surface of the leather and cloth in places. The leather is particularly peeling at the corners. The boards show some marking and general soiling, and the spines show some wear and light discolouration. There is some minor loss and chipping to the surface of the leather spine.
Inside, the endpapers are beautifully marbled and there is a cut out paper flower glued over lace to the front pastedowns. One volume has a small tear to a preliminary blank page and the other volume has a newspaper clipping glued to a blank page. Each volume has a hand coloured frontispiece and a collection of black and white plates. The pages show toning and foxing but are in good, antique condition.
There are striking black and white illustrations throughout which add to the charm of this antique book.
Dimensions of each volume approximately 13cm x 11cm x 2.2cm.
The books will arrive hand wrapped in patterned wallpaper and string.
I use a range of eco friendly, 100% recyclable jiffy bags and boxes, and whenever possible I use brown paper tape. The green bubbled wrap is biodegradable and the clear bubble wrap is 100% recyclable. I also reuse boxes when I feel it's appropriate (if the boxes are sturdy enough).