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[ANONYMOUS]; [TILTON, J. E., publisher]

Phantom Flowers. A Treatise on the Art of Producing Skeleton Leaves

Boston: J. E. Tilton and Company, 1864. Decorative Cloth. First Edition under this title (see below) of this early work on a fashionable Victorian pastime. 8vo (191 x 119mm): 96pp, with six tissue-guarded plates, head pieces, and historiated initials. Original dark green ribbed and beveled cloth, covers paneled in blind, gilt vignettes to spine and front cover, chocolate brown end papers, illustrated title page. 

First published in Philadelphia, in 1863, by Edward Parrish, under the title Phantom Bouquet : Skeletonizing Leaves and Seed Vessels. Producing skeleton leaves involved removing chlorophyll from leaves to create intricate designs in imitation of those left by insects and larvae. The designs were used as borders on photographic portraits and for other decorative purposes.