Linden, Jean Jules, and others | A complete set of this stunning work on orchids

Linden, Jean Jules, and others

Lindenia. Iconographie des Orchidées. Gand: F. Meyer-van Loo, 1885-1903

17 volumes, together with a duplicate of Volume III, folio (346 x 262 mm). Half-titles, title-pages, 813 (on 801) plates (numbered 1-794, 796-814) with tissue guards, of which 12 are double-page bearing 2 numbers, all but one (pl.525) chromolithographed by P. de Pannemaeker, G. Severeyns, and J. Goffart, after P. de Pannemaeker, A. Goussens, J. de Bosschere, G. Putzys and others, type printed in black only in first volume, printed in pink and black in all others, some original wrappers bound in at ends, printed advertisement for L’horticulture Internationale loosely inserted at end of Volume VII, Volume XI with printed advertisement on pink paper tipped in after pl.525, Volume XIII with printed death notice on unnumbered page between pp.36-37; some text leaves supplied from the American edition, some plates presumably supplied from another, shorter copy and tipped in on guards, moderate browning and foxing throughout but plates are mostly bright, offsetting onto tissue guards, internal open tear to pl.213 affecting print, tissue guard to pl.244 partially adhered to plate, stray stain to margin of pl.377, tissue guards to pl.515-516 cleanly detached, a few tears to tissue guards throughout, occasional annotations and corrections in pencil. First three volumes bound in quarter dark blue morocco over marbled boards, spines in five compartments, second and fourth lettered in gilt, others ruled in gilt, marbled endpapers, other volumes including duplicate of Volume III in half green morocco over teal cloth, with spines in six compartments lettered and decorated in gilt, top edges gilt, fore- and bottom edges uncut, plain endpapers; first three volumes rubbed at extremities with exposure to corners and spines at head and tail, others with stray stains to cloth, green morocco spines lightly sunned.

Jean Jules Linden (1817-1898) made extensive trips as a botanical explorer to South and Central America between 1835 and 1844. He was a plant dealer at Luxemburg from 1845 to 1852 and director of the Jardin Royal de Zoologie et d'Horticulture at Brussels from 1852-1861. He continued his activities introducing new plants (particularly orchids) and as a dealer in Brussels and Ghent. His younger son Lucien Linden (1853-1940) succeeded his father as director of the company in 1876.

REFERENCE:

Great Flower Books, p. 85; Nissen BBI 2348; Stafleu TL2, 4628

PROVENANCE:

Robert Meehan Scully (bookplate to flyleaves)