I have only The Old Rose Adventurer which is the second volume of this great compilation of older rose literature and nursery catalogues and deals with the old European roses. I had it as a complimentary copy from the publisher because i contributed a little to it (I sent the background material for the Appendix on the Royal Rose Garden in Stockholm to BCD). I am grateful as it was quite expensive when it first came out and I have reviewed it for the Swedish rose society journal. I would get the first volume about the remontant old roses if I could find it as I find the one I have indispensable. I am interested in rose history and check the book quite often.

Marianne in Sweden

I have The Old Rose Adventurer and it addresses the once blooming old roses, older HT's and climbers. I also have The Old Rose Advisor: Vol 1 & Vol 2 and they address the reblooming old roses. I'm constantly looking up roses in these books and think you would enjoy having them. I do not have the others (yet) :-).

Carol

I have the Old Rose Advisor, the Old Rose Adventurer, and The Old Rose Informant.
I BELIEVE that a new Master List is forthcoming.

I use Advisor more than the others, as the roses it covers are the
roses that are best suited to my conditions.
It sits near my computer, where I can access it quickly, and it's a tad dogeared,
from constant use.

Jeri

ITA about the Old Rose Advisor. I was fortunate to buy the first edition, so I got the version with all the photographs of the early plates.
It and the Adventurer are phenomenal summaries of who wrote what (abbridged) about roses of what name and when.
He did these works without google searches. He just did it and then shared it and the resulting books have no equal.
For repeat bloomers: Advisor
For once bloomer: Adventurer

You didn't mention "Roll Call: the old rose breeder" which I don't use all that often, but when I want an answer to Gee, that's a pretty rose, I wonder what else that breeder introduced....the roll call is the place to go.

I have pondered if I should pick up the revised and improved Advisor. Does anyone know how much got added?

Ann, I have the original with the plates and the updated versions. According to Mr. Dickerson...

"This is not a mere reprinting of the first edition. Every word has literally had at least a cursory re-examination-the book was retyped from scratch. Changes have been made. Continuing research has focused or updated many dates, attributions, names, parentages, and classifications. New sources of information have been consulted and have been tapped to enrich many entries. Some "modern" descriptions have been deleted owing to suspicion that they possibly described a misidentified rose. More "extant or important" varieties have been added as their existence or importance has become manifest; in particular, an effort has been made to include the chronological first several cultivars in each category, even when they fell into obscurity immediately upon introduction long long ago. The supplemental listings in each chapter have been assimilated into the main listings such that each chapter is one continuous alphabetical listing rather than two. The first editions illustration have been omitted!-out of consideration for the pocket-books of, in particular, those buyers of the first edition whose investment still bows their bookshelves; these loyal readers should not have to pay twice for the same pictures, beautiful though they may be. The length of the book has made it necessary to divide it into two volumes. To accomodate the split, we have included the Key to Citations in the first volume as well as in the second."

Whew, hope that helps :-)

Carol

Hello Maurizio
I have all Brent Dickerson's rose books - and, like Jeri's, they are right next to my computer and the first edition of The Old Rose Advisor (which is a strong hardback) and 'Old Roses: The Master List' are in tatters from constant use.
If you have a deep curiosity about old roses, these books open doors to many worlds and open doors in the mind too.
They are not books to pick up and read from cover to cover (though it has been done) but more to use as encyclopaedic reference books when you're looking for answers to questions, or clues re where to look for more information.
The books work well together.
'Old Roses: The Master List' is like a rose dictionary (Look for the 2nd edition.)
If you find a rose name and want fast, brief information about its class, colour, breeder, date or introduction and parentage this is your book.
If you want to know more about the roses, you will need 'The Old Rose Advisor' and 'The Old Rose Adventurer'. (BCD's website should give you details of the classes covered in each.)
The introductory material in these books and at the beginning of each class is a treasure trove of thought provoking material.
These are books that sometimes require quite active reading. The entries for rose varieties in 'The Old Rose Advisor' and 'The Old Rose Adventurer' are compilations of descriptions and comments from many books, catalogues and journals (many being translations of non-English references) and not necessarily listed chronologically, so it's advisable to keep an eye on the reference codes and the dates. The red rose of 1850 may have become a pink or white rose by the 1980s, and something that may look like a puzzling contradiction might in fact be a clue that the rose we have today may be misidentified.

A personal favourite is 'The Old Rose Informant' as, besides the sections from other pens, there is Brent Dickerson's invaluable work on the early days of important rose classes, culminating in a couple of chapters that I'd recommend to everyone.

'Roll Call: The Old Rose Breeder' - great if you want to know about the people who bred roses, who bred what, when and where they worked.

'The Old Rose Index' is a quick guide to whether a rose is dealt with in detail in 'The Advisor', 'The Adventurer' or 'The Informant' and has some very interesting lists and information as well.

The first edition of 'The Old Rose Advisor' is a strong hardback with reproductions of the beautiful paintings first printed in Journal des Roses 1877 - 1914.
The 2nd Edition comes in two paperback volumes and is updated and reorganised, but it doesn't have the reproductions. (Bob Edberg's Encyclopaedia are worth collecting for these!)
This isn't a very good reply to your question but after journeying with them for the past few years, I wouldn't be without any of Brent Dickerson's books.
There are decades of work distilled in them and all are indispensible.
Billy

Well, Bill, it seems now that I NEED to have all Dickerson's books... thank you for your reply. I've ordered The Old Rose Advison vol I, which seems to fit at best my needings, and then I'll add the others.

Thank you so much to everyone for help. How can I do without you?? :o)

Ciao!
Maurizio

It's good to see you here, Mr. Dickerson. You're one of my heroes, and I know many others here agree with me. Drop in to the forum anytime. You're more than welcome. We're *mostly* a very friendly bunch, a mix of old hands and newbies, and your expertise would be invaluable.

Thanks so much! Once upon a (lengthy) time, I was a frequent habitué of forums, and indeed all the more so of newsgroups (anyone for rec.gardens.roses?); but at length I decided to invest those minutes in my research and writing, and in my gardening, all of which have gone forward, and continue, in full force. I'll try to drop in here!--but I'm at the moment I'm hard at work on books two (old shrub roses and ramblers) and three (HTs to 1920 or maybe 1930, Pernetianas, and their climbers) of the aforementioned Second Edition of the Adventurer (they're not just reissuings of the first edition; everything is being scrutinized, re-researched, and brought up to date, and in all these three books I'm adding a sprinkling of additional varieties). Fun!

How exciting, Mr. Dickerson. Thank you for your wonderful books. I want to pull mine out again.

@Brent Dickerson Thank you SO much for your wonderfully informative and delightfully composed books! I cannot tell you how many times I have used them for reference over the years, and sometimes I just plop down in a chair with a cup of tea and devour them like novels. :) I will absolutely check out your new additions and likely add them to my library. TRULY exciting news for all of us rosy gardeners and bookish nerds here on the forum! Carol

Thanks Mr Dickerson for stopping by. I have to check out your books. Please visit here more often, we’d love to hear from you.

I'm overwhelmed by these very kind comments. Thanks so much!

Just to let you know that all three volumes of the second edition of the Adventurer have now been completed and are available. Second Edition Book One: The Old European Roses; Second Edition Book Two: Ramblers and the Old Shrub Roses; Second Edition Book Three: Hybrid Teas 1900-1920 and Pernetianas(including their climbing forms). I think you will be pleased with them! Thanks.

@Brent Dickerson Thanks so much. I need to update my library now, lol. Are they available on Amazon?

@ fig_insanity Z7a E TN They are on Amazon

Book 3 (because I just added it to my wish list)

https://www.amazon.com/Rose-Adventurer-Second-Book-Three/dp/B0CH2BHRFX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=LZKKHSXS2AQ1&keywords=The+Old+Rose+Adventurer+Second+Edition+Book+Three&qid=1694021250&s=books&sprefix=the+old+rose+adventurer+second+edition+book+three%2Cstripbooks%2C123&sr=1-1

Book 2

https://www.amazon.com/Old-Rose-Adventurer-Second-Book/dp/B0C9S88L7C/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SEI8SO73MCM9&keywords=The+Old+Rose+Adventurer+Second+Edition+Book+Two&qid=1694021357&s=books&sprefix=the+old+rose+adventurer+second+edition+book+two%2Cstripbooks%2C149&sr=1-1

Book 1

https://www.amazon.com/Old-Rose-Adventurer-Second-Book/dp/B0C5P7RM6D/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1BVQVV84YNZXC&keywords=The+Old+Rose+Adventurer+Second+Edition+Book+One&qid=1694021384&s=books&sprefix=the+old+rose+adventurer+second+edition+book+o%2Cstripbooks%2C124&sr=1-1

Thanks for supplying the links, Brandon. I appreciate it! Authors have to resist the strong urge to gush about their own works, so I'll just say that I'm pretty sure people will find some very interesting new developments and surprises in these books. ;-)

I'll be ordering all three. Can't wait to compare them to the earlier editions. Lots of late night reading marathons coming up, lol.

Just a heads up that, after an additional 16 years of research and work, the new 3rd edition of OLD ROSES: THE MASTER LIST has just been published and is available. There is such an increase of information that it has been necessary to present it in two volumes, size 7 x 10. I regard this as the culmination (but not end!) of my 40 years of research in the field of Old Roses. I hope it will do good service for researchers and lovers of Old Roses for many many years to come. Many thanks for your interest and kindness!

Good thing we celebrate the 12 days of Christmas over here! There's still time to put in the request. LOL! Smiley face.

Mr. Dickenson - I bought 3-4 of your books 30 years ago, when I was first trying to learn about old roses. I still use them frequently to find info on obscure roses - thank you. I just ordered both volumes of the 3rd edition of OLD ROSES: THE MASTER LIST - can't wait for it to get here. So glad you are still writing, and of course gardening -

Jackie

Thanks so very much, Jackie--wishing you all the best!

FWIW, did you know that the original plates from McFarland's publishing empire are uncatalogued at the National Agricultural Library at Beltsville MD? I was there several years ago and they don't have a lot of rose catalogs from the early 1900's in their special collection. For access you make an appointment, go in person, and ask for the years you are interested in. They happened to mention all the plates stored there as well.

My rarest book, ROLL-CALL: THE OLD ROSE BREEDER, just had its updated and expanded second edition published yesterday. It's rare because, twenty years ago, I took the first edition out of print because I had prepared a new edition . . . but just as I was on the brink of publishing that new edition, I got word that a detailed book on an obscure section of Old Roses was about to become available, and I wanted to check its info so that my own book would be thoroughly up-to-date in its bits about that section (Pimpinellifolias). And so I held up publication and waited for that book to come out. Well, here we are two decades later and that long-awaited book still has not yet seen the light of day! And so I finally lost patience about a year ago, and have now completely re-researched and updated my own new second edition of ROLL-CALL, which you'll find--with a cover which I think is the best of any of my books--at its Amazon page at:

New Book: 2nd edition of ROLL-CALL: THE OLD ROSE BREEDER

(That's US Amazon; it's on other countries' Amazon as well.) Thanks for your interest--I really appreciate it!

@Brent Dickerson Yeehaw! Thank you, Mr Dickerson.

Thanks so much--I'm sure people will find much of interest in it, things that they can't find elsewhere!

I too was waiting for the Pimpinellifolia book, but now I'll get yours Mr Dickerson. I wonder what happened to Peter Boyd?

Thanks! Just for clarity's sake: My own latest what-one-might-call descriptive work on the Pimpinellifolias (describing varieties) would be in book 2 of the second edition of The Old Rose Adventurer, issued just last year, and indeed I gave special and minute attention to the chapter; but anything updating Pimpinellifolia names-dates-breeders since last year would be indicated in my Roll-Call book, just issued. (Roll-Call is at heart a full chronological listing of varieties' names by breeder, with additional notes--basic and/or interesting--about the breeders.) As I understand, Mr. Boyd laudably continues fine-tuning his material. Any writer is confronted with a choice: (A) Hold off from publication until every molecule is "perfectly perfect"; (B) Considering readers' necessities and interest, reach a responsibly high point of completion and publish, trusting to future editions to take care of those final pesky minute obscurities and dubieties (which in truth may never be solved). Either viewpoint is a worthy one; but I'd only add that, like El Dorado, Perfection will always recede, will always seem potentially just beyond the next hill, no matter how many hills one ascends.

I'm waiting for the next Robert Caro book too. He is also a perfectionist. I wish them both well.

Just to top off this thread: Just published this morning was the much updated, much enlarged, and much revised Third Edition of The Old Rose Advisor. It's far from a mere re-issue of previous editions--I've added so much that it now comes in three volumes: Book I of the new edition covers Damask Perpetuals, Teas, Chinas, and Lawrencianas (a totally new chapter!); Book II's chapters are on Bourbons, Hybrid Perpetuals, and Hybrid Chinas; and Book III covers Early Hybrid Teas (a full listing of all HTs of 1899 and before), Noisettes and Climbers, and finally a much-expanded chapter on Polyanthas. In many ways this completes my efforts on Old Roses, begun in 1983, and I'm sure that this much enriched three-book new edition will please you!

For a look at the covers, here are links to the three volumes on their US Amazon pages:

Book I: Book I of New Edition of The Old Rose Advisor

Book II: Book II of New Edition of The Old Rose Advisor

Book III: Book III of New Edition of The Old Rose Advisor

Many thanks for your years of kindness and interest in my efforts!

This is very exciting, Mr. Dickerson. I look forward to getting mine. Thank you so much.

OH boy...back to living on peanut butter and crackers until I can afford the 3rd edition, lol.

Thought some might like to know that the two volumes of The Master List are now also available as e-books (available at Amazon), as of just a couple of days ago. One benefit of this is that people will be able to do searches of all sorts through the data. I'm also hoping that this availability as e-books will help by facilitating research for those writing their own articles and books on rose history. Enjoy!

E-book of Vol. 1 of The Master List

E-book of Vol. 2 of The Master List