Description

First Edition, roy 8vo [26.5 x 18 cm]; [vi], x [i] 408 pp, frontis, plus 60 plates, folding map partly colored at end, index, title page printed in red and black. orig decorated cloth, gilt spine title lettering, top edge gilted, very lightly rubbed at spine ends but a fine, bright and clean copy. Wilson was one of the prime botanical collectors in China and Japan in early 1900's, introducing many species. Besides his descriptions of the plants he found, including some fascinating adventures in little explored places, he describes the geography, the native peoples and tribes, temples, timber trees, cultivated gardens and fruits, agriculture plant products, tea and tea-yielding plants, etc, during his extensive explorations (including Szechuan, Ancient Kingdom of Pa, Sungpan Ting, the Chino-Tibetan border area, Tachienly, Omei Shan, Laolin. 'He crossed the Laolin from north to south, probably the only European to have done so' [Coats - The Plant Hunters, p. 120] scarce.