1890 Rare Book - Familiar Garden Flowers Illustrated by F. Edward Hulme

An exceptionally attractive and complete Victorian botanical volume, illustrated with forty luminous full-page color plates by F. Edward Hulme and preserved in its elaborate original pictorial cloth binding.

Author: Shirley Hibberd. Illustrated by F. Edward Hulme.
Title: Familiar Garden Flowers. First Series.
Publisher: London, Paris, New York & Melbourne: Cassell & Company, Limited, [c. 1890]. This undated issue belongs to the later Cassell & Company publication of the First Series, originally issued in 1879.
Edition: First Series. Undated later issue.
Language: Text in English.
Pages: xvi, 160 pages + publisher’s catalogue.
Size: 7.5 x 5 inches.
Binding: Very good to near fine original publisher’s blue cloth binding, elaborately decorated in black and gilt to the upper board and spine with an exceptionally attractive botanical design. The front cover incorporates a striking inset pictorial floral panel depicting two richly colored garden flowers against a gilt ground, surrounded by elaborate gilt and black floral ornamentation and decorative lettering. Rear board blind-stamped with a central floral wreath and ruled borders. Minor rubbing and gentle wear to the spine ends and extremities, with a few small marks, but the binding remains remarkably bright, crisp, and attractive. Dark endpapers. All edges gilt. Protected in a removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content, firmly bound and generally clean and bright. Some scattered light foxing and spotting, chiefly to the title page, preliminary leaves, occasional margins, and tissue guards, as shown. The botanical plates themselves remain remarkably fresh, clean, and brilliantly colored.
Illustrations: Complete with all forty full-page color botanical plates by F. Edward Hulme, each depicting one of the garden flowers discussed in the accompanying text and retaining its original tissue guard. The plates are beautifully printed with exceptionally vivid and delicate coloring, supplemented by numerous monochrome botanical ornaments and illustrations throughout.

Estimate: USD $250–300.

The book: Familiar Garden Flowers was conceived as an accessible yet beautifully illustrated guide to flowers commonly cultivated in British gardens. Each chapter combines Shirley Hibberd’s practical and historical commentary with a full-page botanical study by F. Edward Hulme. The First Series includes such favorites as Indian cress, white lily, wallflower, sweet pea, Canterbury bell, London pride, aster, marigold, fuchsia, poppy, tulip, jessamine, and snapdragon.

Originally published in 1879, the work eventually expanded into several series and became one of the most appealing illustrated horticultural publications of the late Victorian period. Complete examples are particularly desirable for Hulme’s forty beautifully executed color plates, while the elaborate publisher’s binding of this copy makes it especially decorative.

The author: James Shirley Hibberd (1825–1890) was one of the most influential and popular British gardening writers of the Victorian era. A prolific author and editor, he championed gardening for the growing middle class and helped transform horticulture from a largely professional pursuit into a widespread domestic pastime. His writings combined practical cultivation advice with enthusiasm for the beauty, history, and cultural associations of plants.

The illustrator: Frederick Edward Hulme (1841–1909) was an English artist, botanist, antiquarian, and teacher whose botanical illustrations became widely admired for their precision and rich coloration. He is particularly associated with the celebrated Familiar Wild Flowers and Familiar Garden Flowers series. His full-page studies combine scientific observation with the decorative qualities of late Victorian chromolithographic book illustration.