Phantom Flowers. A Treatise on the Art of Producing Skeleton Leaves

Boston: J. E. Tilton and Company, 1864. Octavo (19 x 12 cm.), 96 pages. Illustrated with six tissue-guarded plates, head pieces, and historiated initials. FIRST EDITION with this title; originally published in 1863, by Edward Parrish of Philadelphia, under the title Phantom Bouquet: Skeletonizing Leaves and Seed Vessels. Producing skeletonized leaves was a fashionable Victorian pastime which involved removing chlorophyll from leaves to create intricate designs which imitated those left by insects and larvae. The designs were used as borders on photographic portraits and for other decorative purposes. Original dark green, textured cloth with beveled edges; covers blind-paneled, with gilt vignettes to spine and front panel. Fine.