Wild Flowers of Colorado by Emma Homan Thayer, First Edition, 1885

Thayer, Emma Homan. Wild Flowers of Colorado: From Original Water Color Sketches Drawn From Nature. New York: Cassell and Company, New York, 1885. First edition. Illustrated with 24 lithographic plates. In the original publisher’s brown cloth hardcover boards. Spine and front board decorated with gilt and green titles, gilt, green, and red flowers to front boards, and blind stamped back board. Presented with a new archival slipcase. 

This is a beautiful 1885 first edition printing of Wild Flowers of Colorado: From Original Water Color Sketches Drawn From Nature by Emma Homan Thayer. The book was published by Cassell and Company, New York, with lithographs printed by Donaldson Brothers, New York. The book features 24 colored lithographed plates from Thayer’s original watercolor paintings. This 1885 first edition is bound in its original brown cloth hardcover boards, with gilt and green titles and the colorful gilt-accented flowers on the front cover, gilt and green titles to the spine, and a blind embossed back cover. It is presented with a new archival brown slipcase. 

This 19th-century botanical book is filled with colored illustrations of flowers and plants from Colorado. This work was originally designed as a travel companion for flower enthusiasts, as Thayer describes not only the native flowers, but also her experiences while hunting for the plants. As she travels across the state in search of unique blooms, Thayer tells stories of those she meets along the way and shares observations on the towns and terrain explored.  Part of the appeal of Thayer's books stemmed from the first-person, diaristic style she used to recount her camping trips and adventures in pursuit of unusual flowers. For this publication, Thayer turned her original watercolors into 24 beautiful lithographic plates. The lithographed plates were printed by Donaldon Brothers, in New York.

A list of the 24 plates appears at the beginning of the book. The flowers are also identified at the bottom of each plate. This book is still collected and desirable today because of Thayer’s artistic compositions and the suburb printing quality of the lithographic plates. 

Emma Homan Thayer (1842–1908) was a 19th-century American botanical artist and author of books about native wildflowers. She attended Rutgers Female College and the National Academy of Design, where she studied painting. Her figure paintings and still life compositions were exhibited in New York and she was one of the earliest members of the Art Students League of New York.  In 1877, she married Elmer Thayer, who was a manager for hotels on the Denver and Rio Grande lines. They moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she continued her career as a painter. In 1882, they moved to Colorado, where she shifted from figure painting to botanical art, focusing on wild flowers native to America. Her first book was Wild Flowers of Colorado. It was followed two years later by Wild Flowers of the Pacific Coast (1887), a botanical study similarly framed around a travel narrative. 

CONDITION: Very good condition. Illustrated with 24 lithographic plates. In original publisher’s brown cloth hardcover boards. Spine and front board decorated with gilt and green titles, gilt, green, and red flowers to front boards, and blind stamped back board. Very light wear to corners and edges, but otherwise a beautiful book. The interior pages are clean and bright, and the 24 plates are colorful and vibrant. Presented with a new archival slipcase.

Book Dimensions: 12 5/8" H x 9 7/8" W x 1" D. Slipcase Dimensions: 13" H x 10" W x 1 1/2" D.

Book accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.