CLAIRVILLE (Joseph Philippe de). Selected collection of plan - Lot 293

CLAIRVILLE (Joseph Philippe de). Selected collection of plants and shrubs. Avec un abrégé de leur culture. Dedicated to amateurs and likely to enlighten their taste in this genre. Zurich, Füssli, 1796-1798. Large in-4, blond basane, ornate smooth spine, gilt fillet framing the covers (period binding). Original bilingual (French/German) edition of the first and only volume published. It is illustrated with 27 hand-colored, unnumbered engraved plates, each accompanied by a detailed botanical description. Rare first and only edition of a fine series of 27 hand-colored botanical plates, each showing a single species with Latin name at the head and a few detailed drawings. Each plate is accompanied by detailed botanical information in French and German. The beautiful plates were designed and executed by the famous Swiss painter and poet Johann Rudolf Schellenberg. It covers a wide variety of flowering plants, including woody shrubs and trees, unusual garden plants and some exotic species. These include a dwarf bitter orange tree (Citrus aurantium pygmaeum) and an American tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera). A fine copy, with a few scattered foxes sparing the plates. Expert : Madame Elvire POULAIN-MARQUIS