[ANON] HERBARIUM. 1855. Herbarium specimens neatly mounted into a half leather with marbled paper over boards blank book approx 27 cm x 21.5 cm. There are 88 immaculately preserved dried specimens beautifully mounted onto the rectos of 43 interleaved pages. The album looks to have been purpose made with thicker, more absorbent leaves alternating with smoother paper for the pressed plants. Altogether a very pleasing, tidy production, exceptionally well preserved. The anonymous collector began their tour in Antwerp on August 3rd, 1855, and were in Cologne on 6th. The individual specimens are not named but rather, they are located with captions in ink. On August 8th a specimen was collected “From the heights of the Fortress of Ehrenbreitstein” and another was “Gathered in a walk on the heights overlooking the Moselle”. On 10th a specimen is captioned “In commemoration of passing Worms” and on 13th, what looks like a cannabis leaf was” Plucked in passing the station of Carlsruhe”. Plants are gathered almost daily, which must have been a triumph of organisation whilst on the move from town to town. They visit Hintersheim “a dirty village, renowned only for having unceremoniously blighted our prospect of a dinner”, but at St. Bernadino a small group of plants were “Gathered in our evening ramble in the beautiful environs of the village…”The collecting continues in the same vein into September, where on the 9th they pluck plants at Calvin’s grave in the Pere La Chaise, and on 11th at Chamonix “ at the foot of Mont Blanc”. The last dated entry is on 12th September, and after two more leaves of specimens the album is complete, with only a few blank leaves. A delightful and rather romantic collection.