Reduced: Curtis, Pyrenean Fritillaria. Sydenham Edwards hand-colored engraving c1808

by Edwards, Sydenham

Lovely early antique print of a delicate Fritillaria.

Original hand-coloured copperplate engraving by Francis Sansom after a drawing by the eminent Welsh botanical illustrator Sydenham Edwards for The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed published in London circa 1803 by T. Curtis. Illustrations for The Botanical Magazine have been revered for their scientific accuracy, and the natural pigments used in the early engravings have survived over two hundred years, ensuring their beauty endures today.

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

Over 200 years old, with stretched paper, price is considerably reduced. Size of page is approximately 23 x 15cm (9 x 6 inches).