[BROOK, Richard]. New Cyclopædia of Botany and Complete Book of Herbs: Forming a History and Description of all Plants, British or Foreign. London: W.M. Clark; Huddersfield: R. Brook, n.d. [c. 1854].
Hardcover. First edition thus. Complete in two volumes. Leather-bound. Octavo (200 x 140 mm.), pp. [lix], (3), 348; (2), 349-733 + hand-coloured frontispiece, and 98 hand-coloured plates outside the pagination. Beautifully binding of contemporary half calf, bound by J. & A. Lupton, their ticket bottom verso terminal leaves. Smooth spines with gilt banding and titles. Contents: Introduction, "On Making a Hortus Siccus, or Herbarium", Directions for the Collection and Preservation of Herbs, Glossary of Technical Terms, Index to Diseases (mis-bound), New Cyclopaedia class I-XXIV, Appendix, Index of English Names, Index of Latin Names, Index of Remedies. Condition: GOOD to VERY GOOD. Collated complete. Binding tight and secure the covers remarkably well preserved. Contents showing intermittent browning, toning and spotting throughout, however the majority remaining good. Without previous ownership markings. A rare survivor.
Note: An wonderful product from the Huddersfield printer, Richard Brook, providing a systematic herbal for family use, copiously illustrated with hand-coloured plates. The frontispiece of a Victorian version of Flora is particularly charming. It does appear to contain some original material based on fieldwork. Frustratingly, Brook didn't date his works, but this edition is probably from 1854, the original Cyclopaedia of Botany having appeared around 1825. Another London publisher produced versions of this book in 1854 and about 1860. Brook also issued his New Family Herbal in various editions.
