Oak, Beech and Yew, Set of 3 Antique Botanical Plates, circa 1873

This is a set of three original antique botanical plates from Anne Pratt's The Flowering Plants, Grasses, Sedges, and Ferns of Great Britain, Plates 207, 208 and 209 of Volume V, published in London by Frederick Warne and Co. about 1873. They are three original sheets sold together as one lot. Between them they show the beech and Spanish chestnut, the oak with hazel and hornbeam, and the Scotch fir with juniper and yew. Plate 207 names Common Beech and Spanish Chesnut, as printed. Plate 208 names Common British Oak, Hazel Nut and Hornbeam. Plate 209 names Scotch Fir, Juniper and Yew.

On Plate 207 the chestnut spreads long toothed leaves across the sheet, with spiny green husks at the upper right and long catkins of pale yellow flowers hanging down the center, while the beech at the lower left carries oval leaves and tassels of small flowers. Plate 208 sets lobed oak leaves and acorns in their cups at the foot, hazel nuts in fringed husks at the right with long catkins above, and the leafy flower spikes of the hornbeam at the left. On Plate 209 the Scotch fir fills the center with long needles, a yellow flower cluster and a brown cone at the lower right; the yew at the left has flat needles, red berries and pale yellow flower clusters, and the juniper at the right carries sharp needles and round berries.

The plates belong to The Flowering Plants, Grasses, Sedges, and Ferns of Great Britain, the six volume flora that Anne Pratt, 1806 to 1893, wrote and illustrated herself. It was published in London by Frederick Warne and Co. of Bedford Street, Covent Garden, for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, with Scribner, Welford and Armstrong as the New York house. The plates were printed in color by William Dickes of London, a licensee of George Baxter's color process. These sheets come from Volume V, whose title page records 237 species in color.

Even age toning throughout. Marked handling soiling along the edges of all three sheets. Foxing on all three sheets, scattered over Plate 209 including the image area. Small edge nicks and slight wear at the corners.

These are original antique plates, not modern reproductions. This item is sold unframed.