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Flores Poetici the Florist's Manual: designed as an introduction to vegetable physiology and systematic botany, for cultivators of flowers. with more than eighty beautifully-coloured engravings of poetic flowers by H. Bourne A.B. Marbled cover with faux leather spine covering reflects the content of the book. While it is not clear whether this is original binding, this style of binding attempts to give an air of authority to the book and its content. It also perhaps reflects references within the book to the writing of classical philosophers and myth. H. Bourne, A.B. late editor of the "Literary Magazine." According to //A Checklist of American Imprints, 1830-1839: title index,// the author's full name is Hemmon Bourne. Published Boston by Munroe and Francis or New York by Charles H. Francis Provenance: Inscription on front cover with the name Lizzie Hamilton The presence of an alphabetical index that guides the reader to illustrations of different flowers reflects the importance of the engravings within the book. Although this book claims to be a manual for florists and to give an introduction to "vegetable physiology," the engravings are the focal point of the book. Each engraving is accompanied by literary references to the flower depicted and a brief, non-scientific description of each flower and its history.