Beschreibung:

ROYLE, John Forbes (1799-1858). Illustrations of the Botany and other branches of the natural history of the Himalayan Mountains, and of the Flora of Cashmere . London: William H. Allen and Co., 1839. 2 volumes in one, 2° (365 x 260mm). Two hand-coloured lithographic frontispieces, 100 lithographic plates by M. Caucci after Vishnuperaud, J. de Carle Sowerby and others, all but three hand-coloured. (Short repaired tear to frontispiece, some light spotting, affecting a few plates only, some plates shaved, touching image.) Red morocco gilt by J. Kelly, with tooled floral border, panelled in blind, gilt edges (some scuffing to extremities). An accomplished work on the botany of India. Surgeon, naturalist and botanist, and the son of a Captain in the service of the East India Company, Royle joined the medical staff of the Bengal Army in Calcutta in 1819. Combining his botanical interest with his medical and military duties, he became the superintendent of the garden at Saharunpore in 1823, employing others to produce a valuable collection of economic plants (DNB). Returning to England in 1831, he published the results of his researches in the present work, in which he encourages the introduction of cinchona plants into India. Royle's care and accuracy as a writer, is complemented by the fine plates. Following the decline of Mughal patronage, skilled Indian artists, such as Vishnupersaud, were in the 19th century commissioned by British writers to illustrate their books. In the Natural History field, both Royle and Roxburgh made use of such artists. BM(NH) IV, 1758; Great Flower Books , p. 134; Nissen BBI 1690.