50 Books Plus One:
A Special Collections Report from Stanley Ellis Cushing

In 1994 the Library mounted an exhibition that highlighted some of its most beautiful rare books. Writing some of the entries for the accompanying catalogue, 50 Books in the Collection of the Boston Athenæum, was a particularly appealing project for me, since it demanded close study of some of our most fascinating holdings. Item 30 in that catalogue, Pierre-Joseph Redouté's Les liliacées, which consists of eight large volumes published in Paris between 1802 and 1816, was an obvious selection for the "50 Books" exhibition. Illustrated by Redouté with 486 stippled engravings printed in color, it is one of the most famous botanical books ever printed.

Two years after the "50 Books" exhibition, the Athenæum was given another botanical tour de force rivaling Les liliacées in its beauty. Entirely devoted to visual and verbal descriptions of the trees and bushes of France, the "Nouveau Duhamel" or Traité des arbres et arbustes que l'on cultive en France (Paris, 1800-1819), was illustrated by Redouté, who drew the first 298 illustrations, and completed by his pupil, Pancrace Bessa (1772-1835) whose 185 illustrations, including stunning images of roses, grape vines, and fruit trees, were very much in the style of his teacher. Bound in France in the early nineteenth century, the seven matching volumes have straight grain morocco spines decorated with elaborate gold tooling and red paper covered boards. Each botanical description is illustrated with a full-page stipple engraving printed in color and finished by hand. This work will certainly be included in any future sequel to the "50 Books" exhibition.

These volumes were given to the Athenæum in memory of Barbara B. Paine by her children, Robert T. Paine, Elizabeth Paine, and Garrett Paine. Each volume of the set contains the autograph of George Williams Lyman (1786-1880), who owned the well-known estate The Vale, which had been established by his father in the countryside near Boston. It was famous for its beautiful plantings of native and imported trees. That his books should come to the Athenæum seems only natural, since he owned fourteen shares in the Library and helped with the purchase of both Greenough's Shepherd Boy and Eagle and George Washington's personal library. His daughter, Lydia Williams Lyman (1837-1897), married Robert Treat Paine (1835-1910), and it was through their branch of the family that these books descended. The accompanying illustrations give just a hint of Redouté's and Bessa's artistic skill.

Title Page Vitis vinifera	Cerisier Persica	Citrus Pyrus