Volume 1

Ladies' Botany

by John Lindley

Published 5 March 2015
The horticulturalist John Lindley (1799–1865) worked for Sir Joseph Banks, and was later instrumental in saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. He was a prolific author of works for gardening practitioners but also for a non-specialist readership, and many of his books have been reissued in this series. The first volume of this two-volume work was published in 1834, and the second in 1837. At a time when botany was regarded as the only science suitable for study by women and girls, Lindley felt that there was a lack of books for 'those who would become acquainted with Botany as an amusement and a relaxation', and attempted to meet this need. The first volume, in the form of engaging letters to a lady, was originally intended to stand alone. Illustrated with detailed botanical drawings, it schools the student in botanical form and taxonomy as well as nomenclature.

Volume 1

Best remembered today for his technically innovative design for the Crystal Palace of 1851, Joseph Paxton (1803-65) was head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth by the age of twenty-three, and remained involved in gardening throughout his life. Tapping in to the burgeoning interest in gardening amongst the Victorians, in 1841 he founded the periodical The Gardener's Chronicle with the botanist John Lindley (1799-1865), with whom he had worked on a Government report on Kew Gardens. Paxton's Flower Garden appeared between 1850 and 1853, following a series of plant-collecting expeditions. Only three of the planned ten volumes were published, but with hand-coloured plates (which can be viewed online alongside this reissue) and over 500 woodcuts, the work is lavish. Volume 1 includes colour plates of orchids, Lindley's speciality, along with a pitcher plant and Moutan peony, both still unusual and exotic at the time of publication.

Volume 2

Ladies' Botany: Volume 2

by John Lindley

Published 1 February 2012
The horticulturalist John Lindley (1799–1865) worked for Sir Joseph Banks, and was later instrumental in saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. He was a prolific author of works for gardening practitioners but also for a non-specialist readership, and many of his books have been reissued in this series. The first volume of this two-volume work was published in 1834, and the second in 1837. At a time when botany was regarded as the only science suitable for study by women and girls, Lindley felt that there was a lack of books for 'those who would become acquainted with Botany as an amusement and a relaxation', and attempted to meet this need. In the second volume of 'this little work', Lindley continues to introduce new 'tribes' of plants, including exotica such as mangoes and Venus fly traps, to his lady correspondent and her children.

Volume 2

Best remembered today for his technically innovative design for the Crystal Palace of 1851, Joseph Paxton (1803–65) was head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth by the age of twenty-three, and remained involved in gardening throughout his life. Tapping in to the burgeoning interest in gardening amongst the Victorians, in 1841 he founded the periodical The Gardener's Chronicle with the botanist John Lindley (1799–1865), with whom he had worked on a Government report on Kew Gardens. Paxton's Flower Garden appeared between 1850 and 1853, following a series of plant-collecting expeditions. Only three of the planned ten volumes were published, but with hand-coloured plates (which can be viewed online alongside this reissue) and over 500 woodcuts, the work is lavish. Further colour plates of orchids are to be found in Volume 2, clearly a reflection of Lindley's interest, but also of the wider fascination for these flowers.

Volume 3

Paxton's Flower Garden Volume 3

by John Lindley

Published 8 December 2011
Best remembered today for his innovative design for the Crystal Palace of 1851, Joseph Paxton (1803-65) was head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth by the age of twenty-three, and remained involved in gardening throughout his life. Tapping in to the burgeoning interest in gardening amongst the Victorians, in 1841 he founded the periodical The Gardener's Chronicle with the botanist John Lindley (1799-1865), with whom he had worked on a Government report on Kew Gardens. Paxton's Flower Garden appeared between 1850 and 1853, following a series of plant-collecting expeditions. Only three of the planned ten volumes were published, but with hand-coloured plates (which can be viewed online alongside this reissue) and over 500 woodcuts, the work is lavish. Volume 3 includes further studies of numerous orchids, and Captain Cook's account of the discovery of the pine that would take his name, Araucaria cookii (Captain Cook's Pine).

The horticulturalist John Lindley (1799-1865) worked for Sir Joseph Banks, and was later instrumental in saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. He was a prolific author of works for gardening practitioners but also for a non-specialist readership, and many of his books have been reissued in this series. The first volume of this two-volume work was published in 1834, and the second in 1837. At a time when botany was regarded as the only science suitable for study by women and girls, Lindley felt that there was a lack of books for 'those who would become acquainted with Botany as an amusement and a relaxation', and attempted to meet this need. A vigorous opponent of the Linnaean system of nomenclature, he supported the 'natural' system of Jussieu, and in this work, designed to help ladies educate their children, he deliberately restricts the use of Latin terms.

The Vegetable Kingdom

by John Lindley

Published 9 October 2011
Employed early in his career by Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist John Lindley (1799–1865) is best known for his recommendation that Kew Gardens should become a national botanical institution, and for saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. As an author, he is best remembered for his various works on taxonomy and classification. This work, one of his most famous, was first published in 1846; reissued here is the revised third edition of 1847. Lindley describes his motive as being 'to make his countrymen acquainted with the progress of Systematic Botany abroad' given that the 'superficial and useless system of Linnaeus' was now consigned to history. The work, nonetheless an important milestone in the development of plant taxonomy, gives an overview of the various classification systems used since that of John Ray, and goes on to define the vegetable kingdom in terms of classes and 'alliances' of plants.

Elements of Botany

by John Lindley

Published 1 April 2008
Employed early in his career by Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist John Lindley (1799-1865) is best known for his recommendation that Kew Gardens should become a national botanical institution, and for saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. As an author, he is best remembered for his works on taxonomy and classification. A partisan of the 'natural' system rather than the Linnaean, Lindley published this 1841 work, the fourth edition of his Outline of the First Principles of Botany, under a new title to emphasise not only that it was 'much extended, and, it is hoped, improved', but also that it was a textbook for students of 'structural, physiological, systematical, and medical' botany. He defines the different elements of a plant, and provides a checklist for identification of plant families, before discussing the various 'natural' systems of classification, including his own, and the different practical uses of plants.

Employed early in his career by Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist John Lindley (1799-1865) is best known for his recommendation that Kew Gardens should become a national botanical institution, and for saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. As an author, he is best remembered for his works on taxonomy and classification. A partisan of the 'natural' system of Jussieu rather than the Linnaean, Lindley writes, in his preface to this 1830 work, that it was originally created for his own use, to avoid having recourse to 'rare, costly and expensive publications' available only in the libraries of the wealthy. His intention is to give a 'systematic view of the organisation, natural affinities, and geographical distribution of the whole vegetable kingdom', as well as of the uses of plants 'in medicine, the arts, and rural or domestic economy'. The work is important in the history of taxonomy.

The botanist and horticulturalist John Lindley (1799–1865) worked for Sir Joseph Banks, and was later instrumental in saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. He was a prolific author of works for gardening practitioners but also for a non-specialist readership, and many of his books have been reissued in this series. This 1829 work is a classification of British plants using the 'natural' system of the French botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, which Lindley firmly supported, believing that the Linnaean system was both inaccurate and had 'almost disappeared from every country but our own'. Lindley describes genera and species in English, but using a uniform, standard vocabulary, and gives the alternative Latin names proposed by taxonomists including Smith, Curtis, Linnaeus, and the Hortus Kewensis. He also offers tables showing the components of each genus, and substantial indexes giving both Latin and English common names of the plants discussed.

The Theory of Horticulture

by John Lindley

Published 30 July 2010
John Lindley (1799–1865) was an English horticulturalist who worked for Sir Joseph Banks and was later instrumental in saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. His earlier books on British plants were well received and he was influential in the realm of botanical nomenclature, especially in orchidology. He was a prolific author and many of his books were aimed at a non-specialist readership. His aim in this work, published in 1840, was to provide 'the intelligent gardener, and the scientific amateur … with the rationalia of the more important operations of horticulture'. Beginning with a chapter on seeds, the first part of the book describes the life and structure of a plant - the root, the stem, the leaves, the flowers and the fruit. The second part moves on to practical topics, such as ventilation and seed-saving, as well as pruning and potting, explaining many basic concepts of plant cultivation.

Ladies' Botany: Volume 1

by John Lindley

Published 5 June 2015
The horticulturalist John Lindley (1799–1865) worked for Sir Joseph Banks, and was later instrumental in saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. He was a prolific author of works for gardening practitioners but also for a non-specialist readership, and many of his books have been reissued in this series. The first volume of this two-volume work was published in 1834, and the second in 1837. At a time when botany was regarded as the only science suitable for study by women and girls, Lindley felt that there was a lack of books for 'those who would become acquainted with Botany as an amusement and a relaxation', and attempted to meet this need. The first volume, in the form of engaging letters to a lady, was originally intended to stand alone. Illustrated with detailed botanical drawings, it schools the student in botanical form and taxonomy as well as nomenclature.

Flora Medica

by John Lindley

Published 3 February 2010
John Lindley (1799–1865) was an English botanist and a leading authority on orchids. He attended Norwich Grammar School but was unable to afford university. Lindley's passion for botany helped him into the position of assistant in the herbarium of the naturalist and explorer Sir Joseph Banks. He soon established himself as a botanist of considerable talent, and was elected to the Linnean Society of London at the age of twenty-one. In 1822 he became assistant secretary to the Horticultural Society, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1828. He was Professor of Botany at University College, London, from 1829 to 1860. Published in 1838, Flora Medica is a systematic reference work written to help medical students understand the botanical characteristics and therapeutic properties of important medicinal plants from around the world. The book includes an appendix of indigenous names of Asiatic species, and a full index.

Best remembered today for his technically innovative design for the Crystal Palace of 1851, Joseph Paxton (1803-65) was head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth by the age of twenty-three, and remained involved in gardening throughout his life. Tapping in to the burgeoning interest in gardening amongst the Victorians, in 1841 he founded the periodical The Gardener's Chronicle with the botanist John Lindley (1799-1865), with whom he had worked on a Government report on Kew Gardens. Paxton's Flower Garden appeared between 1850 and 1853, following a series of plant-collecting expeditions. Only three of the planned ten volumes were published, but with hand-coloured plates (which can be viewed online alongside this reissue) and over 500 woodcuts, the work is lavish. These volumes reflect not only the Victorians' interest in gardening, but also the extraordinary lengths to which they would go to retrieve the exotic and unknown.