I have just acquired a nice old violet book - 'Monographie de la violette' by Pierre-Joseph Buchoz, 1807.

The author's name occurs only on the title page, where it is printed as

J. P. B***. M. N.

Why is his surname disguised?

What does "M. N." mean?

My copy has been rebound, so I don't know what was printed on the original cover; maybe his name was spelled in full there. I know his name is Buchoz because it has been written in ink on the title page, obviously a long time ago.

Buchoz wrote many other books, such as a monograph on the rose. I wonder if those works also disguise his name.

This book does not contain any illustrations, which is a shame, because J-P Buchoz produced many very nice ones, many of which are available as posters and wallpaper today (eg. http://posters.seindal.dk/artist_Buchoz_Pierre_Joseph_byrank.1.html). I wonder if this violet monograph *did* include illustrations, which could have been removed when the book was rebound. I have found no images (on the Internet) of violet or pansy illustrations done by Buchoz, so maybe not. The text makes no reference to any illustrations, so I guess that rules it out.

As regards those questions, thanks in advance for any clues,

Mike