Water-Lilies.- Hooker (Sir William Jackson) Victoria Regia, or Illustrations of the Royal Water-Lily, first edition, 4 magnificent hand-coloured lithograph plates after Fitch, first title and first text f. strengthened at inner margin, 1 other text f. with marginal repair, Massachusetts Horticultural Society bookplates, modern half morocco, morocco label lettered in gilt to upper cover, [Great Flower Books p.60; Nissen BBI 919; Stafleu & Cowan 3014], folio, 1851.

⁂ One of the most celebrated plants of this period.

Victoria amazonica, originally called the Victoria Regia by John Lindley, to honour Queen Victoria's recent ascension to the throne, was first discovered by European explorers. There had been a few failed attempts to get the water-lily to bloom in England, leading to a competition to be the first, primarily between the Duke of Devonshire and the Duke of Northumberland, and their gardeners. In 1849, Joseph Paxton became the first to get the plant to bloom successfully, in his greenhouse in Chatsworth, the residence of the Duke of Devonshire. He sent his cuttings to Queen Victoria and the first lilies flowered at Kew, and the Duke of Northumberland's London residence, Syon House, soon after. Paxton's technology enabled the water-lilies to grow in hothouses across the country.

With its large floating leaves and white flower, the Victoria amazonica attracted lots of visitors to the gardens where it was cultivated. When he designed the glass and iron Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition in 1851, Paxton was reportedly inspired by the structure of the leaves of the plant.