They lived in an age of discovery, and two Victorian nature enthusiasts – perhaps inspired by the exploits of adventurous plant-hunters in far flung places – were about to undertake their own remarkable quest.

Over three years, they trekked the length and breadth of deepest Fife and Kinross on a determined – and rather gentle – hobby of ‘tree-spotting’, observing, measuring and documenting some of the county’s most impressive trees.

Armed with an array of measurements and taking copious notes on the way, they wandered to 114 locations to study giant oak trees, magnificent maples and huge cherry trees – not quite as daring as some Victorian contemporaries who diced with death in foreign lands as they hunted out rare species.

With page after page of descriptions in their notebooks, Largo linen businessman John Jeffrey and St Andrews botanist Charles Howie eventually resolved to share their findings – the girth of each tree, its estimated height, the diameter of the branches – in a self-published book illustrated with 29 images by pioneering Burntisland photographer, Andrew Young.

Just 100 copies of the little-known ‘tree-spotting’ tome were published, perhaps a reflection of its quite niche contents - described by one reviewer as more like a catalogue than a good read.

Now, however, the supersize book is undergoing a modern revival, amid hopes that it could improve present-day understanding of the region’s changing landscape.

Until now, The Trees and Shrubs of Fife and Kinross, published in 1879, was only available to see at a handful of UK libraries with publicly accessible copies, and typically only sought out by readers who already knew of its existence.

High-resolution copies of the book are now being produced at Cupar’s Duncan Institute – not far from the Largo Field Naturalist’s Society, where the pair were members - enabling the efforts of Mr Jeffrey and Mr Howie to be shared far wider than they may have imagined almost 150 years ago.

Making the book more widely available will give modern readers fresh insights into the natural history and Victorian landscapes of both counties, and perhaps even help a new generation of ‘tree-spotters’ match trees detailed within its pages with locations and possibly even trees still standing today.

The photographs alone offer a glimpse insight into a time long gone by: Young’s majestic, sometimes eerie, images give the publication the feel of a Victorian coffee table book, while the scenes show magnificent specimens in unspoiled settings long before the age of the motor car.

Jeffrey and Howie embarked on their ‘tree-spotting’ mission in summer 1875, taking until 1878 to visit various estates, castles and gardens in 114 locations dotted around Fife and Kinross.

They meticulously recorded specimens from Acacias to Yews, jotting down their exact location, details of their surroundings and a short description of the species.

On rare occasions they drifted into poetic description: the cherry tree, they wrote “is one of the best for ornament and timber. In spring it is in a profusion of flowers, and in autumn the fruit regales the blackbird and feasts the thrush.”

However, much of their work was confined to recording simple facts, providing details of trees already more than 100 years old at the time and which could prove invaluable for researchers today.

The text suggests the authors would be pleased to connect with a 21st century audience. “Records of this kind,” they wrote in the preface, “cannot fail to be of present utility, and of interesting value hereafter.”

OnFife’s Local Studies Supervisor Andrea McMillan says wider availability of the book is well timed: “People have a renewed sense of just how important trees are to our everyday lives. To help create a better future, we should be more aware of the past.

“It would be interesting to find out if any of these trees are still around – and wonderful if efforts could be made to replace those that have been lost over the past 143 years."

The preface suggests the authors would approve: “Our chief object will be fulfilled if we can interest the reader in the object of arboriculture, or contribute the information and enjoyment of any lover of nature.”

The pair’s tree-spotting quest was undertaken at a time of huge Victorian interest in the natural world and when collecting plants and identifying new species was matched by a craze for impressive gardens.

Born in 1818, plant enthusiast John Jeffery came from a Biggar family of linen manufacturers whose business interests extended to multiple countries.

However, linen manufacturing would soon undergo massive change as power looms replaced hand versions requiring less labour and leaving him with extra time on his hands.

Botanist Howie, meanwhile, was said to be well known in the floral world for having made “the quest of ferns and mosses an applied science.”

“They must have been quite a sight, these elegant gentlemen, presumably carrying a variety of equipment to take their measurements and going from tree to tree,” adds Andrea.

“The book was self-published and there were only 100 copies – it was probably something of a vanity project.

“There are probably not many of the trees they measured left - it would be nice to find out.”

The book, measuring 20 ins by 13 ins and on sale for a princely £3 3s, was presented to the Edinburgh Botanical Society in April 1880, with members expressing “the desire that such works should be published for every county in Scotland”.

Creating new, accessible formats of the book is the result of a donation from Fife Family History Society which enabled cultural charity OnFife to invest in a scanner capable of handling large publications.

OnFife’s Local Studies team, has long-term plans to use it and other equipment to digitise a range of archive material including old and rare books, bound volumes of broadsheet newspapers, historical records, maps and plans, large photographs and a few watercolour pictures.

One of the next books to be scanned will be another Victorian publication. It explores British ferns – which were another source of huge interest to Victorian plant lovers – and used a printing process of pressing the ferns between two copper plates.

“In the past, we’ve sometimes had to make copies with digital cameras, but the results often left a lot to be desired,” adds Andrea.

“Now we can scan items easily with less risk of damage. We are also better able to crop photos and home in on details in documents.

“Nothing beats poring over source materials but digital opens new doors for us.”