Spiranthes autumnalis. Ladies' Traces orchid with dissections c1836.

Delicately hand-coloured antique print of Lady's Traces orchid.

Original hand-coloured copperplate c1835, drawn and engraved by Charles Mathews for British Phaenogamous Botany; or, Figures and Descriptions of the Genera of British Flowering Plants by William Baxter (1787-1871), published in Oxford between 1834 and 1843. Baxter was the curator of the Oxford Botanic Garden between 1813 and 1854.

'Phaenogamous' means that it has true flowers with distinct floral organs - well illustrated by the wonderful enlarged  dissections at the base of the plant. This is a delightful small botanical engraving in fine condition.

Page size is 213 x 130mm (8 3/8 x 5 1/8 inches). To intaglio impression measures 165 x 100mm (6 1/2 x 4 inches).