The Dictionary of indoor plants in colour By Roy Hay, F.R. McQuown G & K. Beckett
The Dictionary of Indoor Plants in Colour (Premium Collectible Hardcover Edition)
The Definitive Comprehensive Mid-Century Visual Compendium on the Selection, Cultivation, and Care of Houseplants
The Definitive Comprehensive Mid-Century Visual Compendium on the Selection, Cultivation, and Care of Houseplants
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: The Dictionary of Indoor Plants in Colour
- Authors: Roy Hay, F. R. McQuown, & Kenneth A. Beckett
- Publisher: Ebury Press & Michael Joseph Ltd., London
- Publication Date: 1974
- ISBN-10: 0718112741
- ISBN-13: 9780718112745
- Edition Details: Presumed First Edition thus (1974 combined Ebury/Michael Joseph imprint). A highly sought-after reference manual from the golden age of mid-century indoor gardening, beautifully preserved in an exceptional collector's state.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium full-cloth boards, finished with elegant, untarnished metallic title fonts stamped across the spine face.
- Physical Format: Quarto (4to), 224 pages. Densely illustrated with over 500 vivid, high-fidelity full-colour studio photographs documenting rare and popular tropical specimens.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Exterior Boards: The original full-cloth hardboards are exceptionally straight, solid, flat, and square. The spine remains completely unbroken, firm, and uncreased, displaying a rare absence of standard reading stress. Only microscopic, negligible storage shelf-friction is detectable along the extreme corner tips, completely consistent with careful domestic preservation. The volume is protected inside a premium cellophane cover sleeve.
- Interior: The structural text block binding is remarkably tight, square, and firm. Internal leaves and hundreds of high-gloss color plates are exceptionally clean, crisp, bright white, and fully intact. Completely free of previous owner ink signatures, modern highlighting, text underscores, dog-ears, or dealer pencil notations.
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The Dust Jacket: Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Condition & Integrity: The original illustrated graphic dust jacket is present, retaining its sharp visual clarity and deep coloration without any sun-fading or major paper loss. It exhibits only very limited, minor signs of vintage shelf wear along the extreme upper edges, now completely stabilized and beautifully preserved behind the premium archival cellophane sleeve wrapper.
Synopsis & Historical Value
First released in London in 1974, The Dictionary of Indoor Plants in Colour stands as an unassailable classic and one of the most authoritative reference works ever dedicated to interior horticulture. Masterfully compiled by an elite team of world-renowned British gardening experts, this comprehensive compendium delivers strict, practical guidance on how to choose, cultivate, and care for over 1,000 distinct species of indoor plants.
The work bridges the gap between scientific botany and domestic aesthetics. The authors systematically detail individual plant tolerances regarding humidity control, root binding, soil aeration, fertilizing cycles, and precise light exposure—categorizing everything from delicate ferns and tropical orchids to resilient succulents and trailing ivy. Showcasing more than 500 specimens in breathtaking full-colour plates, this well-maintained manual is an invaluable workbook and a scarce collectible testament to the historic 1970s houseplant renaissance.
Author Profile: Roy Hay, F. R. McQuown, & K. Beckett
The authorial brain trust of Roy Hay, F. R. McQuown, and Kenneth A. Beckett represented the pinnacle of late-20th-century British horticultural scholarship. Roy Hay (MBE) was an iconic gardening writer, editor, and BBC broadcaster who revolutionized public gardening media across Europe. F. R. McQuown was a distinguished expert celebrated for his pioneering cross-breeding research on cacti and carnations. Kenneth A. Beckett was a world-traveled botanist, technical editor for the Royal Horticultural Society, and prolific author renowned for his encyclopedic knowledge of alpine and tropical species. Together, their clear, analytical prose and empirical approach stripped the guesswork from indoor botany, making their collaborative guides standard reference tools for global research institutions and private collectors alike.
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