Lincoln, Edwin Hale

Wild Flowers of New England, Photographed from Nature.  Pittsfield, Massachusetts: published by the author, 1935



7 (of 8?) volumes, sheets mounted on guards (14 x 11 in.; 355 x 279 mm).  Printed title, section title and list of scientific and common names of specimens in each volume, 351 (of 400?) very fine platinum print photographs (each approx. 9  1/2  x 7  1/2  in.; 241 x 190 mm) mounted on white handmade paper (10  3/4  x 8  3/8  in.; 273 x 223 mm) in turn mounted on stiff gray sheets with printed calligraphic captions; MHS embossed seal on title-pages of vols. 1–4, plate 56 with horizontal crease, plate 85 with minor dampstaining, plates 275 and 295 with light dampstaining to mount.  Half red morocco, spines gilt in six compartments; some wear and dampstaining.

Lisa Bush Hankin, "No Record So True": The Wildflower Photographs of Edwin Hale Lincoln (1848–1938), catalogue for an exhibition at the Richard York Gallery, New York, 2002

7 (of 8?) vols., sheets mounted on guards (14 x 11in.; 355 x 279 mm). Printed title, section title and list of scientific and common names of specimens in each volume, 351 (of 400?) very fine platinum print photographs (each approx. 9 1/2 x 7 1/2 in.; 241 x 190 mm) mounted on white handmade paper (10 3/4 x 8 3/8 in.; 273 x 223 mm) in turn mounted on stiff gray sheets with printed calligraphic captions; MHS embossed seal on title-pages of vols. 1–4, plate 56 with horizontal crease, plate 85 with minor dampstaining, plates 275 and 295 with light dampstaining to mount. Half red morocco, spines gilt in six compartments; some wear and dampstaining.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A fine collection of Edwin Hale Lincoln's celebrated platinum print photographs of New England wildflowers.  Wild Flowers of New England is the magnum opus of botanist and photographer Edwin Hale Lincoln (1848–1938), who began his project in the late nineteenth century and continued photographing these wild flowers up until about 1907.  In all he created 400 photographs, issuing the series in parts from 1904 to 1907.  He issued collected editions in 1914 and 1935.  Lincoln's technique was unique.  To capture the beauty of each specimen without further endangering the species, he carefully dug up each plant, wrapped the roots in moss, and carried it back home.  There he nurtured each plant until it reached its peak, taking its picture in the natural light from a window in his studio.  He shot a single exposure of each plant and printed the image by hand on platinum paper.  After the exposure was made, he returned the plant unharmed to the spot in the woods where he had found it.  The results are unforgettable "portraits" of individual flowers and plants.  It is easy to see why these photographs attracted the attention of Gustave Stickley and other artists of the American Arts and Crafts movement.  Lincoln's work stands beside theirs as an essential component of early twentieth-century American artistic sensibility.

Rare.  Only a few complete bound sets of all 400 plates are known to exist.  The present collection of 351 plates is the largest set to come to auction in many years.  Almost every plate is in superb condition.