Hough, Romeyn Beck

The American Woods, exhibited by actual specimens and with copious explanatory text. Lowville, N.Y.: by the author, 1893-1904



Volumes I-X only, 8vo (9 x 6 in.; 228 x 152 mm). 762 samples of wood, being wafer-thin sections, window-mounted in 254 card mounts (3 samples in vol. 8 laminated between mica sheets); mica sheets frayed, occasional natural cracking and warping to some samples, dampstain in outer edge of first few leaves of vol. 8. Text in original black wrappers with gold-stamped title on upper covers, samples on card mounts unbound as issued, each text volume and accompanying samples loose within original green blind-stamped cloth covers, the covers in green cloth drop-boxes, printed wood labels on spines.

See Stafleu & Cowan TL2 II, p. 341 (only citing 6 volumes)

The lifetime achievement of Romeyn B. Hough, who devoted himself to the study of American trees, and is best known for his Handbook of trees of the northern states and Canada, long a standard reference work. The present much larger work provides a unique record of American wood types, arranged geographically. Parts I-IV cover New York and adjacent states, part V covers Florida, and parts VI-X describe the Pacific Slope. The woods used for the specimens were personally collected by the author. Many subscribers only bought volumes on the areas that interested them, so very few complete sets (14 volumes) were assembled.