Trees of Southern Africa (3 vols)

More that thirty years on, this magnificent production from the Balkema stable remains the authoritative work on the subject. And this is an excellent set.

The green laid paper dustjackets are printed in black on all 5 faces. The dustjacket stock is friable and undamaged jackets are hard to come by. We have carefully repaired the end-chips and tears of this set with matching tape, restoring their condition to very good, even though the spines are sunned. The fine illustration to the front is by "W", but the artist's full name is not acknowledged.

The volumes are uniformly full-bound in brick-red cloth with gilt design and lettering to the upper panel and spine. The heavy plain endpapers have the same bookseller stickers on the front paste-downs. There are no ownership or inscriptions or other markings. All the volumes remain tightly bound.

• Volume One. xv pp of contents, foreword, preface and map + pp 1-703 of b/w illustrated text, appendixes and index + 8 inserted colour plates of photographs by Eve Palmer's husband, the novelist Geoffrey Jenkins. The first 41 tree families are covered.
• Volume Two. [iv] + pp 705-1497 + 8 inserted colour plates. Families 42-67 are covered.
• Volume Three. [iv] + pp 1499-2235, including bibliography, general acknowledgments, African names, errata and the general index to all 3 vols + 8 inserted colour plates. Families 68-101 are covered.

Volumes Two and Three were published a year after Volume One.

CONDITION. The volumes have been carefully read by a single owner and the covers and contents remaining near fine, unmarked and undiscoloured. A better set may be difficult to source.