The Botanical Register: Consisting of Coloured Figures of Exotic Plants, Cultivated in British Gardens; With Their History and Mode of Treatment (In 7 Volumes)

London: James Ridgway, 1824. Full calf. Very Good +. Here offered are 7 early volumes of the 21-volume "Botanical Register", with its hundreds of exquisite hand-colored engraved botanical plates. We have Vols. II and Vols. V through Vol. X, spanning 1816 through 1824. All 7 volumes are in very solid condition, all in either the publisher's original full calf or, at the very least, in a lovely contemporary-to-the-period calf. The roughly 500 hand-colored plates --about 20% of them large fold-outs-- are suffused with bright, rich color, the hues vivid and crisp. Several of the outer hinges show a bit of wear and are slightly tender (though still perfectly sturdy), mild wear at several of the spine ends. Uniform octavos, strong, unrubbed gilt-titling and devices along the spines, attractive gilt-bordering to the panels and wonderful marbling at the edges. Very interesting unnamed armorial bookplates at 6 of the 7 front pastedowns, all 7 volumes boast the bookplate of Sarah Jane Atterbury McGinley at the rear pastedowns. A beautiful set, even if only 1/3 complete, with stunning botanical plates.