Flora Sardoa seu Historia Plantarum in Sardinia et adjacentibus insulis vel sponte nascentium vel ad utilitatem latius excultarum [+ Carta della Sardegna, annessa alla 1a parte del viaggio in cetta Isola del Colonello A. della Marmora. 2da Edizione. de Moris, J.H. [+ Alberto della Marmora)

Taurini: Ex Regio Typographeo Three volumes, 1837 - 1843. A partial set of one of the rarest of Mediterranean floras. Illustrated with 96 very fine engraved plates (including 3 bis plates - XXXIII, LXXVII, LXXXVIII], a double-page engraved map of Sardinia (rather foxed), quarto, pp xii, 606; 562. (ii], + plates volume (96 plates of 114), remarkably clean internally, contemporary half calf and cloth, the spines with raised bands and black morocco labels, slightly rubbed and scuffed, a little wear at the corners. The engravings are by by L. Fea,, S. Botta, H. Mil and A. Nizza after drawings by M. Lisa and J.C. Heyland; there is a presentation inscription, in Latin, in the first volume, from the author to Sir Charles James Fox Bunbury. [Lacking the final volume, which was not published until 1857. The fact that the plates volume is here labelled Volume III suggests that Bunbury received these from the author in 1843, and the final volume was never presented. The author was a botanist at Cagliari, then at Turin where he subsequently became Director of the Botanical Gardens. His primary investigations were on the flora of Sardinia, of which this work is the first, and still the most complete and detailed, account. Sir Charles Bunbury was a keen botanist and geologist with a particular interest in paleobotany. He collected plant specimens on expeditions to South America in 1833 and South Africa in 1838. He also accompanied his great friend Sir Charles Lyell, the geologist, on an expedition to Madeira. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1851. From Bunbury the set moved to the Leipzig collector and antiquary Oswald Weigel, with his small stamp. Also in each volume is the later bookplate of Kenneth Lazenby, a founding member of the Alpine Garden Society. The map is an addition to the published work and is equally rare - "Carta della Sardegna, annessa alla 1a parte del viaggio in cetta Isola del Colonello A. della Marmora. 2da Edizione. Carte de la Sardaigne, annexee a la 1e´re partie du voyage en cette Ile, par le Colonel A. de la Marmora.". Although lacking the later volume, this set remains very attractive due to its condition, provenance, and the additional map.]. First Edition. Half-Leather. Very Good.