Date of Printing: 1787 • Medium: Copperplate Engraving (hand colored) • Subject Category: Natural History - Plants & Flowers • Signed: Unsigned • Period Created: Enlightenment (1700 - 1799) • Plate Size HxWxD cm: 20 x 12.3 • Leaf Paper Size HxW cm: 22.3 x 13.5 • Style: Original Vintage • Print on Verso: Blank on verso • Condition: Excellent, with minor foxing • Edition Type: 1st Edition - Limited • Paper Type: Laid Paper • Framed: Print only
This is a rare, first-edition print from Wiliam Curtis's "Botanical Magazine", published 1787 in two volumes. Original hand coloring.
This print comes with its associated text page. The condition of these prints is very good, with strong plate marks and dates. Minor foxing, please see photos.
The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name Curtis's Botanical Magazine.
Each of the issues contains a description, in formal yet accessible language, and is renowned for featuring the work of two centuries of botanical illustrators. Many plants received their first publication on the pages, and the description given was enhanced by the keenly detailed illustrations.Curtis was trained in pharmaceuticals, articled to his Uncle. At the age of 27, he was appointed, Demonstrator and 'Praefectus Horti' to the Chelsea Society of Apothecaries. His passion, however, was botany, his forte being British flora.
William Curtis began publication of the Botanical Magazine in February 1787, with a desire to enlighten those who enjoy the pleasures of gardening and botany. After Curtis edited the first 13 volumes, the publication continued under the editors: John Simms (1800-1826), William Jackson Hooker (1827-1865) and Joseph Dalton Hooker (1865-1904). The images were engraved and hand-colored by many artists including Sydenham Edwards, William Graves, James Sowerby, John Curtis, William Jackson Hooker, W.H. Fitch, Matilda Smith, Lillian Snelling and Stella Rose Craig. The plates are known for their fine detail and delicate hand coloring. The prints are all copper engravings.
These early volumes are particularly prized for their lavish, beautifully hand colored large illustrations.