Australian flora, Various-leaved Lobelia heterophylla Paxton engraving c1838

by Paxton, Joseph

Delicate blue Australian creeper, Wing-seeded Lobelia antique print, "a product of Van Diemen's land.." "The discovery and colonization of Australia has, among other and greater benefits conferred upon the mother country, enriched our gardens with an immense number of almost invaluable plants, so excellently adapted are they to the mode of management which we practise in our greenhouses.."

Beautiful original aquatint engraved by Frederick W. Smith and published in London circa 1838 by Sir Joseph Paxton for Paxton's Magazine of Botany & Flowering Plants.

Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-1865) was a hugely talented man. Starting as a gardener at 15 years of age, with no formal education, his skill and enthusiasm were rewarded by promotion at the age of 23 to Head Gardener on the Duke of Devonshire’s Chatsworth estate, one of England’s finest gardens. Although considered a landscape gardener, Paxton’s diverse talents gained him a reputation as both architect and engineer, particularly for his design of glasshouses. His design for the glass house conservatory at Chatsworth served as a model for Paxton’s design of the Crystal Palace for the London Exhibition of 1851 (for which he received his knighthood). Apparently Paxton drew the intricate design for this building in under nine days.

Size of page 230mm x160mm ( 9 x 6.25 inches)