Flora Londinensis. Primula veris, Primula Cowslip antique print c1800.

by Flora Londinensis

Elegant Primula exquisitely engraved and coloured.

William Curtis (1746-1799), was Praefectus Hortis (Horticultural Manager) of Chelsea Physic Garden in London when, in 1775, he began publication of Flora Londinensis with life-size illustrations of plants that grew wild within a ten-mile radius of London. Despite the financial assistance of John Stuart, Earl of Bute (who financed the laying out Kew Gardens), William Curtis was almost ruined financially from his most ambitious project. The first plates were published in 1777, the same year that he resigned from Chelsea Physic Garden. Despite praise for his work, by 1798 he was almost bankrupt... a condition no doubt also contributed to by the establishment of his own botanic garden at Lambeth Marsh, and his acquiring over 6,000 species of plants by the end of the Botanic Garden's first year.

This engraving was published between 1817 and 1828 for Flora Londinensis.. plants indigenous to Great Britain, illustrated by figures of the natural size, by the late William Curtis. A New edition Edited by George Graves and William Jackson Hooker -(editor and botanical artist, George Graves F.L.S. (1784-1839), and eminent Scottish botanist, William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865), who had been appointed horticultural director at Kew after Curtis resigned).

With collectors bringing back plants from all around the world, people were interested in more exotic plants, so in 1787 William Curtis began publishing his smaller Botanical Magazine - also with exquisite hand-coloured copperplate engravings. This latter publication is still issued today nearly 240 years later (now Kew Magazine).

The page size is 480 x 280mm (17 x 11 inches) Please note that there are a few spots on page. Personally, I feel they do not detract from the gorgeous detail of this engraving.