[PIEDNOIR (Léonide). Botany. Album of watercolors of flowers. Sl, [c. 1845]. Manuscript small in-folio (36,3 cm x 28,2 cm) of (1) f. of title, (15) ff. of text and (1) f. blank; green chagrin, smooth spine decorated with gilt and cold filets, boards framed with gilt and cold filets with, in the center, a large rocaille iron decorated with floral and animal motifs, initials "LP" on the upper board, gilt filets inside, gilt edges (period binding signed Chézaud & Braulart). Very nice botanical album, entirely calligraphed and watercolored. It includes a handwritten title decorated with a watercolor drawing representing a bouquet of flowers, and 15 unsigned watercolors of botany, executed on full page on strong wove paper, with the names indicated in the lower part. These 15 watercolors, of a fine and careful execution, represent the following plants: Agarics. - Wheat. - Aphyllanthe. - Balisier. - Aristoloche. - Buckwheat knotweed. - Belle de Nuit. - Cobea sarmenteux. - Aliboufier. - Coreopsis. - Honeysuckle. - Coriander. - Violet. - Rose. - Alder. Each watercolor refers to a class of plants according to the classification of Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu: 1. Acotyledonia. - 2. monohypogyny. - 3. Monoperigyny. - 4. mono-epigyny. - 5. Epistaminia. - 6. Peristaminia. - 7. Hypostamina. - 8. Hypocorollia. - 9. Pericorollia. - 10. Epicorollia. - 11. Corysantheria. - 12. Epipetalia. - 13. Hypopetalia. - 14. Peripetalia. - 15. Diclinia. The text, calligraphed, contains the description of these 15 classes, with the general characters of the main families and the names of the most common plants. The first name "Léonide", as well as the mention "Seconde Classe", appear on the title page. Born in Laval (Mayenne) on October 28, 1826, Léonide Piednoir was the daughter of the banker Louis Piednoir, established in this city. In 1847, she married Guillaume Joseph Lelièvre (1822-1870), a lawyer, partner in the Piednoir-Lelièvre bank, deputy mayor and president of the Laval Commercial Court. The couple had three daughters who became Mrs. Sénné Desjardins, Mrs. Bougrain and Mrs. Brossard de Corbigny. Léonide Piednoir died in Laval in 1862, at the age of 35. On the verso of the first flyleaf, printed label "Chézaud & Braulart. Bindings and framing. 55, rue de la Verrerie. A Paris ". Born in 1813 in Paris, Louis François Chézaud was first an apprentice, then a bookstore and bookbinding worker, before opening, in 1844, a stationery and bookbinding business with his partner Braulart. Unpublished album, not mentioned in the usual bibliographies (Nissen; Pritzel; British Museum, Natural History). A fine copy.