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Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya: being an account, botanical and geographical, of the Rhododendrons recently discovered in the mountains of Eastern Himalaya, from drawings and descriptions made on the Spot, London: Thomas M'Lean, 1849-51, second edition

2 Parts in 1 Volume
Title with tinted lithographic vignette, 2 letterpress part titles, 1p. list of subscribers, 1p. preface to part II. Hand-coloured lithographic frontispiece and 21 large hand-coloured plates, beautifully lithographed by the renowned botanical illustrator Walter Hood Fitch (1817-1892) after the sketches made by the botanist and explorer Hooker (1817-1911) during his travels through the Sikkim Himalaya; contemporary full dark blue shagreen morocco gilt over bevelled boards, elaborately gilt-decorated spine compartments and borders, marbled endpapers, and all edges gilt.
46.5 x 37.5 cm

LIST OF PLATES
Part I: 1) Rhododendron Dalhousiae, Hook. fil. / 2) Rhododendron Barbatum, Wall. fil. / 3) Rhododendron Lancifolium, Hook. fil. / 4) Rhododendron Wallichii, Hook. fil. / 5) Rhododendron Campelli/e, Hook. fil. / 6) Rhododendron Arboreum, Hook. fil. / 7) Rhododendron Roylii, Hook. fil. / 8) Rhododendron Cinnabarinum, Hook. fil. / 9) Rhododendron Elaeagnoides, Hook. fil. / 10) Rhododendron Argenteum, Hook. fil. / 11) Rhododendron Falconeri, Hook. fil.
Part II: 12) Rhododendron Aucklanii, Hook. fil. / 13) Rhododendron Thomsoni, Hook. fil. / 14) Rhododendron Falconeri, Hook.fil. / 15) Rhododendron Pendulum, Hook. fil. / 16) Rhododendron Pumilum, Hook. fil. / 17) Rhododendron Hodsgoni, Hook. fil. / 18) Rhododendron Lanatum, Hook. fil. / 19) Rhododendron Glaucum, Hook. fil. / 20) Rhododendron Maddeni, Hook. fil. / 21) Rhododendron Triflorum, Hook. fil. / 22) Rhododendron Setosum, Hook. Don. fil.

GRANDES FLEURS DU TOIT DU MONDE: HOOKER’S ALPINE FLORA CAPTURED BY FITCH

Published in 1849, The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya is widely regarded as one of the most exquisite botanical works of the nineteenth century and a landmark publication in the annals of Himalayan flora. Compiled from the fieldwork of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker—then only in his early thirties—and edited by his father, the eminent botanist Sir William Jackson Hooker, the work documents the results of one of the earliest scientific expeditions to the Eastern Himalayas. The second edition, offered here, reproduces all twenty hand-coloured lithographed plates with exceptional fidelity, housed in an imposing large folio format.

An exceptional copy with bright, richly coloured plates, the present volume offers twenty superbly hand-coloured lithographs drawn with remarkable accuracy and detail. These images are of great interest not only for their botanical precision—especially in the rendering of blossoms, foliage, and reproductive parts—but also for their geographic notations and environmental specificity. Originally planned to include only ten plates, the work was expanded due to enthusiastic response from subscribers and the continuation of Hooker’s Himalayan explorations, ultimately becoming one of the most celebrated botanical records of the region.

The illustrations were executed by the celebrated botanical artist Walter Hood Fitch (1817-1892), after Hooker’s field sketches and pressed specimens, with assistance from local Indian artists. Fitch, one of the most prolific botanical illustrators of the nineteenth century, served as chief artist for Curtis’s Botanical Magazine for over four decades, contributing more than 9,000 drawings. His work in The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya is among his finest: the plates capture the exuberant forms and radiant colours of these Himalayan shrubs, while some include enlarged sectional views of stamens, pistils, and ovaries, lending the work enduring scientific and aesthetic value.

The first plate is especially notable, depicting the rhododendron in situ—growing amidst moss-covered trunks in a misty mountainous landscape—demonstrating the intersection of art, science, and imperial encounter. As noted in Oak Spring Flora, “the first plate is unusually attractive because the plant... is shown in its native habitat, growing among the trunks of fallen trees against a hazy background of blue mountains.”

The work is also significant for its horticultural impact. As Great Flower Books affirms, it remains “an important work both for the botanist and horticulturist since it contains descriptions and plates of the best garden Rhododendron species that can be grown in this country and an account of their discovery.”

Hooker’s travels through the central and eastern Himalaya (1847–1849), often in the company of British political agent Archibald Campbell, yielded over 7,000 botanical specimens. The expedition was not without incident: both men were briefly imprisoned by the Raja of Sikkim for trespassing near the Tibetan frontier. Yet the scientific yield was enormous, with this publication forming a cornerstone of imperial botany and expanding Western knowledge of one of the most ecologically rich and politically sensitive regions of Asia.

The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya thus occupies a critical place in the history of botanical illustration, scientific exploration, and colonial visual culture—its elegance of form matched only by the depth of its scientific content.

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