'Nature printed' in brown ink, with titling and imprint in black, by the Vienna Hof- und Staatsdruckerei. A beautiful example from "most important work produced by nature printing ever published" (Stafleu). To the modern eye this plate has an almost photographic beauty to it, which, in aesthetic terms, foreshadows the work of the great early-20th century photographers such as Man Ray. However, this achievement is almost certainly incidental as von Ettingshausen's intention was to present a detailed anatomical portrait using the highly exacting method of nature printing. John Lindley writes "Attempts were long since made to obtain Botanical portraits by printing from the plants themselves, flattened and otherwise prepared for the purpose. The process of the Imperial Printing Office [Hof- und Staatsdruckerei] at Vienna, to which the name of Nature-Printing has been happily applied. is a great improvement upon the old method, inasmuch as it represents not only general form with absolute accuracy, but also surface, hairs, veins, and other minutiae of superficial structure by which plants are known irrespective of the hidden details of their hidden organization. Moreover, an exact copy in copper of the part to be represented being employed by the printer, instead of so fragile an object as the plant itself, we obtain the means of multiplying copies to the same extent as in copperplate engraving; and hence the method becomes suitable for purposes of publication." (Preface of 'The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland. Edited by John Lindley. Nature-printed by Henry Bradbury') . The present plate was printed under the supervision of Alois Auer, the inventor of the nature printing process, at the Vienna state press. Von Ettingshausen, an Austrian botanist, palaeontologist and mineralogist, was a keen supporter of nature printing and published a number of other works using the process (the Bradley Bibliography lists 24 titles under his name). Pokorny worked with von Ettingshausen to improve the quality of nature printing and worked as a teacher and lecturer at various establishments in Vienna, lecturing on phytogeography at the university from 1857-1868. Cf. Fischer 69; cf. Hunt Printmaking in the Service of Botany (1986) 60; cf. Nissen BBI 613; cf. Pritzel 2756; cf. Stafleu & Cowan TL2 1723.

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Bibliographic Details

Title

Ranunculus montanus; R. auricomus

Publisher

Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna

Publication Date

1856

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Store Description

Donald A. Heald Rare Books offers the finest examples of antiquarian books and prints in the areas of Botany, Ornithology, Natural History, Americana & Canadiana, Native Americans, Voyages & Travels, Maps & Atlases, Photography and more. Founded in England in 1972, we have formed and contributed to important private and institutional collections. Items of note which we have placed include a unique copy of Abbot?s "Natural History of the Rarer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia" with plates on vellum, an extremely rare extra-illustrated large paper Spanish edition of Blaeu?s "Atlas Mayor," Curtis's "North American Indian," a copy of the Federalist Papers in boards, the first separate printing of the Bill of Rights, and a large paper issue of Redout�'s "Les Roses" with the plates in two states. We are renowned for our extensive print inventory which is unsurpassed in quality. Our Sporting collection recently incorporated the complete print stock of Ackermann & Son of London, established in 1783. We are members of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, where Mr. Heald has served on the Board of Governors as Treasurer, Security Chairperson, and as Chairman of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. We are members of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, and the American Historical Print Collectors Society. Mr. Heald is a member of the Grolier Club, and the American Antiquarian Society.

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Donald A. Heald Rare Books (ABAA)
NY, U.S.A.

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Terms of Sale

To order, please telephone or e-mail. Payment may be made by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, America Express, check, or by wire transfer (please ask for details). Paypal funds should be sent to info@donaldheald.com. Any purchase may be returned within ten days of receipt. We ask that you notify us of the return as soon as possible. Donald Heald, Donald Heald Rare Books, 124 East 74th Street, New York, NY 10021. Telephone: 212-744-3505. Email: info@donaldheald.com.

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You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.

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If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

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You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Donald A. Heald Rare Books (ABAA), New York, New York, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

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The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
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Order quantity	5 to 14 business days	3 to 6 business days
First item	� 18.94	� 30.31

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