Charles Plumier | Description des plantes de l'Amérique avec leurs figures, Paris, 1693

Charles Plumier

Description des plantes de l'Amérique avec leurs figures. Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1693

FIRST EDITION, second issue (with correct date on title-page), folio (412 x 267mm.), half-title, title with large engraved vignette, colophon, 102 (only, of 108) plain engraved plates (plates 12, 79, and 80 supplied in good pencil and ink facsimile in a late-eighteenth or nineteenth-century hand, lacking plates 60, 69, and 70), many plates neatly captioned in pencil with binomial nomenclature, plate 103 partially hand-coloured, eighteenth century calf, sprinkled edges, browning and soiling to preliminary leaves, some plates dampstained at margins, small repaired closed tear to lower margin of final plate, rebacked retaining original spine, extremities rubbed

Plumier (1646-1704) was one of the most important botanical explorers of his day. He made three expeditions to the West Indies, the first of which is described in Description des plantes d'Amérique. This work proved successful, and Plumier was appointed royal botanist to Louis XIV of France.

The present copy includes a note in ink on the preliminary blank, in the hand of William Beeston Coyte, noting the absence of plates 79 and 80. A pencil annotation, possibly in the same hand, also records the absence of plate 12. It is possible that the manuscript facsimile plates were executed by Beeston Coyte himself, or alternatively by a nineteenth century owner.

PROVENANCE:

William Beeston Coyte (1740-1810): ownership inscription to preliminary blank

LITERATURE:

Hunt 389; Nissen BBI 1544; Sabin 63455; Stafleu TL2 8066