London, Trübner, [no date, but 1856 or 1857]. 8vo (22.1 x 14.1 cm). 35 pp. Original blind tooled boards with gilt title on front board, and gilt rose vignette on rear board.

An extremely rare scholarly publication with many references. There are no auction records of this book. According to the title page, the work is "translated from the German, by C. W.". The author is anonymous, and so is the translator. On the title page it is stated that only 100 copies were printed. The Australian library holds a copy with a slightly different title: " O. D./An essay/on the/mythological and symbolical/history of the rose/From the German/by C.W./reprinted from the original/(only one hundred copies printed)". And "(not to be sold)". Apparently here is a clue towards the author. On p. 22, footnote 80, the sentence "Compare my review of Becker's Gallus in Klotz and Dietsch's Year Book of Philol. and Paldag. Vol. 57, number 2, p. 147" is underlined in ink. Here we should find the author's name, although the translator remains anonymous. However, Stock shows that the translator is O. J. Delepierre, and the author E. F. Wüstemann ("C. W." then being an error for E. W., but in the German Frakturschrift the letters C and E are quite similar). This is the Trübner version which differs from the 1856 Smith, Elder version in lacking a dedication page. Boards a bit browned, small dent to rear board, damp-stain to top outer corner of the title page. Small stamp to front board and front flyleaf, otherwise a good copy. Stock, Rose Books, 634.