The Plant Hunters

Toby Musgrave, Chris Gardner, Will Musgrave

ISBN 10: 0706377532 / ISBN 13: 9780706377538

Published by Ward Lock, Londo, 1998

About this Item

A fine first edition, first impression, first printing of Toby Musgrave, Chris Gardner and Will Musgrave¿s book The Plant Hunters in hardback cloth covers with a fine dust jacket, published in Great Britain by Ward Lock in 1998. This fine book has green cloth covered boards, titles in gold on the spine with light green photographic end papers. The tight, bright book has no marks, bumps or writings over its 224 pages, apart from a small owners initials and the year 98 on the facing end paper. The book is as new and unread. The book is published on high quality paper to complement the many photographs, illustrations and maps. The copyright page states copyright Musgrave, Gardner & Musgrave 1998 indicating the first edition of this book. The fine green dust jacket is not price clipped and no price is shown as the book is also distributed in USA and Canada. The titles are in mustard and orange on a green framed panel on the front, and in mustard and beige on a grey spine. The front and back of the jacket feature evocative photographs of typical terrain from the Lost Gardens of Heligan, where the first two authors were involved in the restoration. The authors, specialists in horticulture and garden history, trace the journeys of ten of the most significant plant hunters over the past two hundred years. Their stories are told with style and handsomely illustrated. Several zoomable photos are attached to the book listing on my AbeBooks website. Clear removable archival film protects the pristine dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 000189

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Plant Hunters

Publisher: Ward Lock, Londo

Publication Date: 1998

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

This is the story of the men who discovered and brought back a wealth of exotic new plants. Journeying through remote and beautiful lands, often in great peril, they collected the plants that shaped western garden design for 200 years. The stories are illustrated with portraits, photographs and maps. The book traces the journeys of 10 of the most significant plant hunters, from the 18th century to the last of the professionals, Frank Kingdon-Ward. It travels with Captain Cook and Sir Joseph Banks to South America, New Zealand and Australia. It treks over 9000 miles across North America with David Douglas, who laid claim to 200 species. It also explores California, South America and South East Asia with the Lobb brothers, and climbs into the Himalaya with Joseph Hooker in search of spectacular rhododendrons. It follows Robert Fortune, as he smuggles tea plants out of China, the foundation of a vast cash crop vital to the development of the Empire. These and other stories vividly bring to life the pioneering work of plant hunters.

Review:

The years before and during the age of the British Empire were periods of vast scientific and technological advancement. The travels to all parts of the world brought back many tales of native peoples, their lifestyles, and goods and riches beyond imagination. Britain became the world's greatest trader of commodities such as gold, spices and food. Part of the process of recording the new found cultures, continents and indigenous plant species became the responsibility of privately and royally funded societies such as the Horticulture Society and Kew Gardens. Through these organisations, expeditions to all corners of the globe were organised to bring back plants, seeds and exotic foods not only for research but also for cultivation and trading purposes.

The Plant Hunters offers an extraordinary look into the lives of the men who travelled the world in search of plants and seeds to document and send back to Britain. From the early travels of Sir Joseph Banks, who sailed with Captain Cook and the Endeavour in 1768, to the more recent adventures of Frank Kingdon- Ward in the early 1900s, this book tells the tales of these brave and dedicated botanists who spent years in often unfavourable conditions in order to gather specimens. The plants that they categorised, lovingly drew and documented, were at their time all new and very different from those found in Europe. Many of these have now become garden standards such as lilies, orchids, rhododendrons and many varieties of fir and conifers.

The stories of these men's lives follow the advancement of British culture from the early settling of Australia to the opening of trade with and the colonisation of China and the Far East. This fascinating, well-documented and well-written book will be of interest to anyone with an interest in gardening, botany, or history.