This beautiful third edition of The Amateur Orchid Cultivator's Guide Book was published by Blake and Mackenzie in 1900. So the book is from the late Victorian era.
The book is bound in red cloth with pretty floral decoration to the front board and gilt lettering. It's in good condition for it's age but the boards do show some marking and light soiling. There is wear to the corners and a little fraying to the cloth at the top corners. The board edges are bumped and the spine is faintly sunned. Crushing to the spine ends has caused splitting in the cloth - there is a small hole in the cloth at the edge of the front board near the tail of the spine.
Inside, the pages show light age toning with sporadic marking and foxing. There are no inscriptions but there is a rubbed out pencil price on the front free endpaper. There are occasional cracks to the gutter but the pages remain tightly bound.
There are a handful of stunning colour plates inside, alongside photographed black and white images.
Dimensions approximately 21.7cm x 14.5cm x 1.5cm.
The book will arrive hand wrapped in patterned paper 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 bubble 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).