Withering's "Arrangement of British Plants"

I love antique books, and I like to find notable science books from the nineteenth century. Every so often, I write about them on this blog, teaching myself many new things in the process. Click the label "science" below, and you'll find my previous posts (along with my Galapagos photos!).

This lovely set is An Arrangement of British Plants; According to the Latest Improvements of the Linnaean System to Which is Prefixed, an Easy Introduction to the Study of Botany, by William Withering (1741-1799. He was an English physician whose contributions to science are still important: his studies of foxglove lead to the identification of the compound digitalis, prescribed for heart issues.

According to this site, “Withering’s later work, An Arrangement of British Plants (1787–92), was designed to show amateur botanists, many of whom were young women, the utility of the Linnaean classification system. In addition, this work introduced his specially designed field microscope, which subsequently became known as the Withering botanical microscope.”

Here is more on Withering and his life and work. https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Withering#ref1089571