The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalaya

George King, Robert Pantling

Bengal Secretariat Press, for B. Quaritch, 1898

Thick Folio (36 x 28 cm).  Modern green cloth portfolio and clamshell box.  Original front cover preserved and inlaid in portfolio.  Pages loose, as issued. Includes index page. 311 lithographic plates (of 453).  Hand colored.  Occasional staining, particularly along the bottom edge.  

"The drawings have all been put on the stone by natives of Bengal educated at the Government School of Art in Calcutta. And the colouring has ... been done by the sons of Nepalese coolies employed on the Government Cinchona Plantations, boys who had never until Mr Pantling took them in hand been accustomed to use any implement more delicate than a hoe. Mr Pantling's perseverance and skill in drilling these boys into accurate colourists has been a standing marvel to everybody who has seen them at work" (Preface). Refs: Great Flower Books, p 83; Nissen BBI 1051; Stafleu & Cowan TL2 3660. 

Annals of the Royal Botanic Garden Calcutta. Vol. VIII. (8). 

This is an oversized or heavy book, which requires additional postage for international delivery outside the US.