Nurseryman's Sample Book
Cabinet Fruit and Flower Plates
Stecher Lithograph New York
E.D. SMITH Copy
60 Color Lithographs

1890

CABINET
Fruit and Flower Plates 

COLORED FROM NATURE, AND LITHOGRAPHED BY
Stecher Lithograph Co.

New York: Stecher Lithograph Company, Undated but circa 1890.

Gilt stamped limp leather boards with inner marbling and featuring 60 chromolithographs.

Association copy: E.D. SMITH. With gilt stamped title:
'Helderleigh Farms & Nurseries, E.D. SMITH, Proprietor. Winona, Ont. Series E, 287.'

Ernest D'Israeli Smith was born in Winona, Ontario, Canada in 1853 (which later became part of Stoney Creek of the Niagara/Hamilton region). Smith acquired Helderleigh Farms in Winona in 1889, and not long after it became a food empire, a massive company that still bares his name to this day.

93/8 x 53/4 inches

2 blank leaves, title leaf, 60 full page lithographs in colors, 2 blank end leaves. Complete.

In very good condition. Exteriors show wear and rubbing with some splitting to front cover joint but holding tight. Remnants of an old pastedown to first marbled page, minor soiling, foxing and wear to plates throughout, but pages are generally in nice condition. 2 of the plates have their descriptions pasted to them (likely the doing of the publishers). 'BURBANK' plate has strip of paper pasted to upper edge of page (likely easily removable and probably done at the time of binding), one inch closed tear to edge of 'EUROPEAN MOUNTAIN ASH' plate, one inch closed tear to edge of 'BARON DE BONSTETTEN' plate, closed tear to edge of 'PERSIAN YELLOW' plate. Please see photos.

A nice tight copy of a rare work with excellent provenance.