John Day (1824-1888) was one of the richest and most famous orchid growers in Europe. No amateur of his time possessed a greater knowledge of orchids. Day illustrated over 2,300 orchids, bound together in 53 'scrapbooks'. This book contains 280 colour illustrations taken from this valued collection, including the earliest hybrid slipper orchids, odontoglossums and cattleyas - plants that no longer survive but which were important progenitors of modern orchid hybrids.