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Lot 260
[NATURAL HISTORY]. THORNTON. A suite of 15 botanical plates from Temple of Flora. Lon.,1812. 
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Estimate
$800 - 1,200
Price Realized
$3,493
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Lot Description
[NATURAL HISTORY]. THORNTON, Robert John (1768-1837). A suite of 15 botanical plates from Thornton's 1812 quarto edition Temple of Flora. [London: for the author, 1812].

15 engravings with hand-coloring, sheets 14 3/4 x 11 3/4 in, matted. Some toning to margins.

[With:] a small broadside (8 1/2 x 4 in) announcing a botanical lottery for this edition on 6 May 1813 for "the promotion and encouragement of science."

The so called "lottery edition", according to Dunthorne, was published initially as fourth level prizes in the lottery that Thornton ran in an attempt to recoup the losses he had incurred during the production of the folio work. The majority of the plates are reduced copies of those found in the original large folio edition. Dunthorne 302.


Property from the Estate of Peter Fortsas
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