PRATT, Anne.

London, Frederick Warne and co, (c. 1855-66). 8vo. viii,+ 288 pp.+ 47 plates, of which 46 in colour; viii,+ 355 pp.+ 39 colour plates; ix,+ (blank),+ 410 pp.+ 53 colour plates; viii,+ 328 pp.+ 53 colour plates; viii,+ 368 pp.+ 50 colour plates; x,+ 136, + (2),+ 137-319 pp.+ 76 colour plates. Some foxing in part five and six. Slightly worn contemporary green half calf, gilt spines with raised bands and red and orange labels, marbles edges. Six volumes. From the library of John Walker, with his signature dated 1875 and his bookplate. Bookplate of Nils Fries. Nissen 1562. Stafleu 8275. With a total of 317 coloured plates and one uncoloured. Volume VI contains ”British Grasses and Sedges” and ”The Ferns of Great Britain”. Anne Pratt (1806-93) was a grocer’s daughter in Kent, and is one of the most famous and successful female botanical artists of the 19th century. She wrote and illustrated more than 20 books on botany. ”The drawings which illustrate her books are her own work, through in their published form they no doubt owe a good deal to the artists of the firm of W. Dickes and Co” (Blunt p. 236). The firm of William Dickes used a process developed by George Baxter, which began with a lithographic key plate that printed the main design, followed by colour applied through a succesion of wood blocks.