Flora's Gems: or, The Treasures of the Parterre

London: Charles Tilt, 1830. Handsome and Interesting Ornaments for the Drawing-Room Table"

ANDREWS, James. Flora's Gems: or, The Treasures of the Parterre. Twelve Bouquets, drawn and coloured from nature, by James Andrews. With Poetical Illustrations, by Louisa Anne Twamley. London: Charles Tilt, [1830].

First edition. Folio (14 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches; 369 x 273 mm.). 20 unnumbered pages including half-title, title-page, contents, dedication leaf, and advertisement leaf at end. Hand colored lithographed title and eleven superb hand-colored lithograph plates, all with their original tissue-guards.

Publisher's green diaper-grain (truncated) cloth, covers decoratively bordered and stamped in blind enclosing a large and quite magnificent gilt urn with flowers. Spine decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt, original yellow coated end-papers, all edges gilt. Lower 3 1/2 inches of front inner hinge slightly cracked - still the finest copy that we have ever seen.

"The covers are decorated with stamped and gilt bouquets of flowers in tall vases, typical of the age in which "Handsome and interesting ornaments for the drawing-room table" were in vogue." (Dunthorne).

James Andrews (1801-1876) was an English draughtsman, botanical painter and illustrator noted for his accomplished illustrations. He also taught flower-painting to young ladies. His first illustrated work was Flora's Gems (1830) for which Louisa Anne Twamley wrote the text. He created the illustrations for the famous nature writer Sarah Bowdich Lee's 1854 book Trees, Plants, and Flowers: Their Beauties, Uses, and Influences. In March 1857, his painting of fruit and a bowl in watercolour received a medal from the Royal Society of Agriculture and Botany in Ghent. In 1868, Andrews exhibited a piece called Earnest Andrews, a painting of fruit and flowers, at the Royal Academy of Art annual summer exhibition.

The highly colored plates in Flora's Gems: or, The Treasures of the Parterre (a formal garden) depict magnificent bouquets of various flowers.

1. Wreath
2. Lilian (Narcissus, Anemone, Purple Stock)
3. The Naming of the Iris (Iris, Ranunculus, Hyacinth, Heath)
4. The Fairy Couch (Dahlia, China Aster, Convolvulus)
5. Eudora (White Geranium, Stock, Schizanthus)
6. The Tulip (Tulip, Passion Flower, Sweet Peas)
7. The Hollyhocks in the Old Hall Garden (Hollyhock, Major Convolvulus, Indian Pink)
8. The Lilac Tree (Persian Lilac, Red Camellia, China Rose)
9. Poetic Fables - The Hyacinth (Blue Hyacinth, Tulip, White Camellia)
10. Folly's Flowers - The Columbine (Columbine, White Lily, Lupine)
11. The Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum, Heliotrope, Dahlia)
12. The Rose (Rose, Cyclamen, Larkspur)

Dunthorne, 13; Nissen BBI, 35. (Inventory #: 04213)