Lot 111: William P. C. Barton (American, 1786-1856),

William P. C. Barton (American, 1786-1856), Vegetable Materia Medica of the United States or Medical Botany..., 1817, 1818, 2 volumes, first edition, published by M. Cary & Son, Phila., red morocco, gilt tooling, raised bands, with green pebbled inserts, featuring 50 hand-colored stipple engravings, with subscribers names. Note: William Barton was appointed a Naval surgeon in 1809. Later he became a botanist of note, serving as Professor of Botany at the University of Pennsylvania, instructor of medical botany at Jefferson Medical College and was the first head of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, United States Navy. The book above was one of the first botanical books and one of the earliest color plate books published in the United States.