Jim,

You might be interested: just on the shelves:

WILD VIOLETS OF NORTH AMERICA,
Baird, V.B.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1942., 1942, , VIOLETS, COLOR PLATES, Pp. xv, 225, 80 full page color plates by F. S. Matthews, 14 text-figs. Orig. gilt-decorated cloth, lg 8vo. First edition. This edition is limited to 1000 numbered copies signed by the author, this being no. 268.
Bookseller: Natural History Books, Iowa City, IA
Price: US$ 100.00

That's a fair price, assuming it is in reasonable condition. It is a shame it doesn't have the dust jacket, but they are quite rare and would bump the price up.

This book is based on the work of her father, Ezra Brainerd, at the Agricultural Station at Vermont. The coloured illustrations are attractive and useful, and the text contains much good information. The hand-written number (of the limited edition) will be at the back, by the way.
It was published in 1945, so some of the nomenclature is out of date, but that doesn't stop me liking the book a lot; it is still one of my bibles of north American Viola.

If I've tempted you, act quickly - these don't hang around for long...

Mike

jim, re d'udine in italy.
my feeling is that this variety is the same as marie louise. it might be a 'selelcted clone' but under normal conditions, it seems the same as what most of us grow as marie louise. trouble is, in italy they seem to have duchesse de parme under the name marie louise. they then make the point d'udine is much darker than marie lousie. from the italian perspective, this is true! there's no way to prove we have the correct variety names on our stock after so many years, but most violet growers would recognise d'udine and marie louise as being the same. from an international perspective, it's likely the italian 'maire louise' is duchesse de parme, or perhaps lady hume campbell. this doesnt exclude the chance that the italians are right and the rest are wrong! just bowing to, establishing or reinforcing a naming convention.
i'm not sure if that's the same thread as nathalie started. either!
rob...

Oh..I am bringing confusion..Yes I wrote 'Marie Louise'talking about that old italian cultivar.But actually...to me too...as Rob explained..Marie Louise and Udine are the same.Strong vigourous and dark parma...sometimes with a green center and red spots...Here too probably more names than differents varieties...

(And this old cultivar as a label mentioning Rosa Merlo..Just the place where it comes from...not (YET!!) a new name! )

Nathalie ; have you saw the flowers of "Udine" that I gave you? it's very different from the Mrie-Louise who comes from your home. They dont flower at the same time, and do not have same strength. I cultivate them together and under the same conditions, damage which I do not have of photograph. There must be well two cultivard distinct but the names were mixed.
;-) xy

wow!
we explore a contoversy!
you must follow up your observations, yann. ok? perhaps we will come to a new understanding of these parma violets. (this doesnt change the fact the italians dont have the 'rest of the world' version of marie louise.)
rob...