Thornton, Robert John.

First edition, folio (570 x 450mm.), 6 engraved titles or sectional titles, engraved portraits of Thornton, Queen Charlotte, Linnaeus (2 portraits, including one showing him in Lapp dress, both in 2 states, coloured and plain), Thomas Millington, engraved plate of "The Universal Power of Love", engraved dedications, diagrams and list of plates, the Temple of Flora with 3 allegorical hand-coloured aquatint plates, and 30 fine hand-coloured plates of flowering plants, engraved in aquatint, mezzotint, stipple or line, including both states of the Auriculas, and the American Bog Plant (this not called for in the list of plates), twentieth-century morocco-backed boards, vellum corners, [Great Flower Books, p.77; Nissen BBI 1955; Grigson and Buchanan, Thornton's Temple of Flora (London, 1951)], isolated marginal dampstaining affecting a very few leaves

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A fine copy of the greatest English botanical book, including the group of four auriculas ("not often found" Grigson and Buchanan, p.16) as well as the group of two, and both the pitcher plant and American bog plant, which are normally substitutes for each other (Ibid., p.19).

Thornton intended his work to be a pictorial celebration, accompanied by prose and verse, of the sexual system of Linnaeus. He employed the artists Peter Henderson, Philipp Reinagle, and others to paint the plants, each in an exotic or romantic setting. Thornton exhausted his fortune on the book's production, with the result that he had to petition Parliament to conduct a lottery in order to avoid bankruptcy. He blamed his failure to secure sufficient subscribers for his book on war, and wrote bitterly "The once moderately rich very justly now complain that they are exhausted through Taxes laid on them to pay armed men to diffuse rapine, fire, and murder, over civilised Europe".