Curtis, Purple Indigo Plant hand-colored botanical engraving c1834

by Hooker, William Jackson

Antique print of the pretty Pink and Purple Indigo Plant. Curtis engraving.

Original hand-coloured copperplate engraving by Swan after a drawing by the botanist who succeeded William Curtis as Praefectus Hortis of the chelsea Physic Garden in London, (Sir) William Jackson Hooker. Published in London by Samuel Curtis for Curtis's Botanical Magazine circa 1834.

Publication of The Botanical Magazine was begun in 1787 by William Curtis (1746-1799) when he was Praefectus Hortis of Chelsea Physic Garden, “in response.. to solicitations for a work... (combining) Botany and Gardening”. It illustrated botanical specimens from around the world, and has been published continuously for nearly 240 years, now as Kew Magazine.

Illustrations for The Botanical Magazine have been revered for their scientific accuracy, and the natural pigments used in painting the early engravings have survived over two hundred years.

Engraved plate size is 23 x 14cm (9 x 5.5 inches). External mount size is 33 x 25cm (13 x 10 inches)