johnson theo philus (1 risultati)

Hardcover. Condizione: Very Good. Theophilus Johnson (illustratore). Limited Edition. 22 bifolia measuring roughly 22.5cm x 14.5cm each when closed. Thirty-nine plates measuring roughly 22.5cm x 14.5cm each with watercolor illustrations heightened with gouache. Original gilt printed red cloth sleeve, spine lightly sunned and lightly bumped at head and tail, title page in red and black ink, printed letterpress with pencil signatures, plant identification, and plate numerification by Johnson, each bifolium holds two plates, all bifolia are laid loosely in the sleeve, some light sunning to plates, light thumbing to edges of plates. IN VERY GOOD CONDITION. An extraordinarily rare self-published, botanical work on English water plants with thirty-nine hand drawn and colored plates by Theophilus Johnson (1836-1919). As Johnson produced his work primarily on commission, each of his books may be considered to be unique and it is likely that most remain in private hands. I was only able to locate one work with this title: it is in the records for the Natural History Museum in London, however their copy has a different number of plates. (Not located in OCLC, although there is a small selection of his other works in OCLC relating primarily to lepidoptery, carnivorous animals, and birds, published between 1874 and 1911.) Although Johnson focused much of his work on entomology, he had plenty of experience working with plants as he was careful to include images of the fauna which was fodder for the creatures. Johnson was particularly remarkable in that he wrote, illustrated, and printed all of his own work right up to the end of his life. Very little is written about him, although some of his work is mentioned in Klaus Nissen's "Zoologische Buchillustration" and Howard Radclyffe wrote an article on him which includes a bibliography of Johnson's non?entomological works. (The copy of Our Aquatic Flora I mentioned above is included in this bibliography.) According to Radclyffe, Theophilus Johnson apprenticed to the printing trade as a young man and eventually opened his own business as a letterpress printer. In his last 20 or so years he moved to Dartford Heath, Kent where he worked out of his small studio and devoted his studies to the flora and fauna of his immediate surroundings. In fact, based on Radclyffe's bibliography, it seems likely that Johnson only began to publish botanical work after his move to Dartford. The writing style of Theophilus Johnson is quite personal and he relates the plants he illustrates to his everyday observations. He includes the common name of the plants; their binomial nomenclature; the general distribution of the plants within Great Britain; when they blossom; and occasionally their medicinal qualities. Signed by Author(s).