‘Les Roses’ by Pierre Joseph Redoute (1759-1840) is arguably the most celebrated of all flower books. Hunt states ‘The technical execution of its production was … near perfect. The artistic quality of the plates is high’. The source of the Roses illustrated were the collections of the author of the text Claude Antoine Thory, the gardens of Malmaison and others in region of Paris. Because of the books close connection with Malmaison, the home of Napoleon’s Josephine, it has attained celebrated status. Dunthorne (1938) 232; ‘Great Flower Books’ (1956) p. 71; Hunt (1963) ‘Redouteana’ no. 19; Nissen BBI (1966) 1599.