1853 Fora's Dictionary and color plates ??

I have a copy of an 1853 Flora's Dictionary by E.W. Wirt. It contains
nine color plates (two additional plates have been removed at some
time in the past). This edition was published by Lucas Brothers of
Baltimore and was a presentation edition with a presentation color
plate page and Mrs Wirt's autograph. The condition unfortunately is
poor; some water damage on the text pages, the book is split from the
spine,the red and gold leather cover is damaged, and foxing on the
plates. This book has been in my famly since it was published. I
understand that these editions with the color plates may have some
value. Any advice would be appreciated.

richard wrote:

I have a copy of an 1853 Flora's Dictionary by E.W. Wirt. It contains
nine color plates (two additional plates have been removed at some
time in the past). This edition was published by Lucas Brothers of
Baltimore and was a presentation edition with a presentation color
plate page and Mrs Wirt's autograph. The condition unfortunately is
poor; some water damage on the text pages, the book is split from the
spine,the red and gold leather cover is damaged, and foxing on the
plates. This book has been in my famly since it was published. I
understand that these editions with the color plates may have some
value. Any advice would be appreciated.

There are four copies on ABE (http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/BookSearch) at
the moment (three of them are earlier printings than yours). Two have no
prints, one has five hand-painted prints (some missing), one has 56
hand-painted prints. Apparently there were big differences between the
different printings. It seems your copy may be large (folio-size). If so,
this will add to its value.

How bad is the foxing? If it's very bad the book may not have all that much
value anyway, but a certain amount of foxing is only to be expected. If it's
salvageable, by all means salvage it. I would recommend taking it to the
bindery for starters. Try to find someone who's sensitive to the period feel
of the book. There are specialist binders around who will restore, rather
than replace, the original binding. As for restoration of the pages, the
water damage may be solvable. If you want to be able to continue the
tradition and pass it on to your children with pride it's worth taking it to
a professional restorer.

No one here, I think, will recommend you to remove the plates and ditch the
book. Antique dealers may try to encourage you in that direction, but my
advice would be to preserve it in book form. If you can track down copies of
the two missing plates on the antique market, I would recommend you to buy
them and place them in the book.

Good luck!

--
John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com