Aust. Epacris coccineus. Scarlet-flowered Epacris. Joseph Paxton c1838.

by Paxton, Joseph

Australian Epacris, or Crimson Heath antique print c1838.

Original aquatint printed in colour and finished by hand, drawn and engraved by Frederick W. Smith for Paxton's Magazine of Botany & Register of Flowering Plants by Joseph Paxton. Published in London c.1838 by Joseph Paxton.

Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-1865) was a hugely talented man. Starting as a gardener at 15 years of age, with little formal education, enthusiasm, intelligence and skill were rewarded by being appointed at the age of 23 as Head Gardener on the Duke of Devonshire's Chatsworth estate, one of England's finest gardens. Although he was more often considered a landscape gardener, Paxton's diverse talents gained him a reputation as both architect and engineer - particularly for the design of his glasshouses. His design for the large horticultural glass house at Chatsworth was the model for Paxton's design of the Crystal Palace for the London Exhibition of 1851. Erected by 2,000 men in under 8 months with the radical concept of pre-constructed equal sized modules, both Paxton and the head construction manager were knighted for their achievement.