Walnut, botanical engraving, 1874

Unframed: book plate of exquisite and unusual ancient botany, illustrated by w. H. Fitch & published in 1874. The print comes in two variants: 1) color by hand. These impressions vary in condition. Most plates are slightly yellowed and some have dirty marks and a bit of tan. Some of the colored prints have moisture spots that are more pronounced on the back than on the front. Others have small binding holes on the left and a few are slightly tattered on the left, while others are glued on a narrow strip of paper on the edge of the binding. A few have embossed library stamps. 2) black and white. These boards have interesting bookcase marks that add to the character. "york library" on the small purple stamp and "city public york" on the embossed stamp. Both sets of prints are blank on the back. Some pages were printed with low or no margins, with printing down to the edge of the paper. They would need careful supervision. Paper size: about 18 X 24 cm. Let me know if you want the color image or the black and white image.