Lindenia. Iconographie des orchidées.

8 parts in 4 vol., folio: 104-102, 102-104, 102-102, 102-102 pp. (some browning and spotting, more so on tissue guards).

Cont. half red morocco, gilt spine on 5 raised bands, a.e.g., marbled endpapers (rubbed, corners bumped). Good copy.

First 8 volumes (of 17) of this important work on orchids by the Belgian botanist Jean Jules Linden (1817-1898). Ill. with 384 full-page chromolithographic plates with tissue guards by P. de Pannemaeker, each followed by a detailed 2-page description of the species. Between 1835 and 1844 J.J. Linden made extensive trips as a botanical explorer to South and Central America. Afterwards he worked as a plant dealer in Luxembourg from 1845 to 1852 and became director of the Jardin Royal de Zoologie et d'Horticulture in Brussels from 1852 to 1861. He continued his activities as a dealer, introducing new plants (particularly orchids) in Brussels and Ghent. His son Lucien Linden (1853-1940) succeeded him as director of the company in 1876. The publication ran until 1901 and seventeen volumes in total were published with 801 illustrations. This set includes a menu of the festive lunch, organised by L'Orchidéenne, Société d'Amateurs d'Orchidées, and ill. by J.L. Goffart on the occasion of their 50th meeting. Ref. Nissen (BBI) 2348. - L'orchidée en Belgique 3. - Great Flower Books 160.- Not in Pritzel.