Half-framed Willits Citrange, citrus fruit lithograph. Deborah Passmore c1904.

by Passmore, Deborah Grisscom

Willits Citrange antique print. (gold-lined green mount.)

Original colour-printed lithograph by Deborah Griscom Passmore (1840-1911) for the Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture, published in New York in 1904 by A. Hoen & Co. Passmore received a strict Quaker education prior to moving from Delaware to study at the School of Design and Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. She was a skilled botanical artist who worked for the United States Department of Agriculture Division of Pomology for 19 years.

Between 1897 and 1925, before the widespread use of photography, artists were employed by the United States Department of Agriculture to produce watercolours of food crops growing in the U.S. Yearbooks, illustrated by beautiful lithograph from these watercolours, were published to promote the cultivation of fruit and vegetables. There was not an enormous circulation, so these beautiful illustrations are rarely seen today.

This lithograph is in fine condition, measuring 23 x 14cm (9 x 5.5 inches). It is half-framed in a narrow mid-green conservation matt with a gold line highlighting the image, and is covered with cellophane for presentation and protection until framed. Window size is 205 x 130mm (8 x 5 inches). External measurement for frame window is 315 x 240mm (12 3/8 x 9 1/2 inches).