Issued in parts. Images by Sowerby; text by  Sir James Edward Smith. Only Sowerby is credited on the title page. Includes 2,592 hand-colored plates of British plants. 

"Buyers of this work today must exercise extreme caution. Because of its popularity, editions were published over many years, sometimes with images produced from worn out plates, parts from earlier editions and other bibliographic nightmares. The second edition of this work was merely a restrike of the first, and mixed editions were routinely produced. Sets of the final edition (usually in 13 volumes of quarto size, with 1,936 plates), designated the third edition, appeared as late as 1892, and were illustrated with crude lithographic (albeit hand-colored) copies of Sowerby's original engravings. There are also pirated editions" (Lawrence H. Conklin, "James Sowerby, his publications and collections," Minerological Record, Vol. 26, July-August, 1995).

Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link.