This one is likely a First Edition print, which are generally very rare. Appears to be on the original wove paper, which came to be used in the early years of the 1800's.
The publication: Some of the greatest botanical engravings of the early nineteenth century were commissioned for a periodical entitled The Botanical Register. It was published in London by James Ridgeway and edited by the famous botanist, Sydenham Teak Edwards (1769 - 1819) who produced many of the engravings and drawings for Curtis' Botanical Magazine until 1815 when Edwards decided to publish his own monthly magazine.
From its inception in 1815 to the year 1828 The Botanical Register published superb botanical engravings for each issue. All were delicately coloured by hired artists and the larger plates (such as this original example) were folded into the text. The magazine was continued as Edward's Botanical Register from 1828 to 1847. After 1847 the engravings became too expensive to produce and were replaced with lithographs.
The Artists: J. Watts was one of the principal British etchers who produced original etchings and engravings after M. Hart's designs for The Botanical Register and Edward's Botanical Register.
The drawing & coloring are quite stunning. It's a beautiful plate, full of the passion that the early flower painters, botanists & gardeners had for these amazing flowers, many of which were discovered in the pristine reaches of the ever-expanding British Empire & by intrepid explorers of the time.
These gorgeously drawn, engraved & water-colored original prints were presented on their page with consistently balanced, beautiful compositions.
Every part of these prints was made by hand: Hand drawn & engraved on Copper which was hand-mined, smelted & rolled, printed onto handmade cotton rag paper, inked & colored with hand-ground pigments individually by hand, & they were usually hand sewn into handmade leather-bound books.
Condition: Appears to be in excellent, near pristine condition. The hand-coloring appears to remain sharp & brilliant as the day it was painted. The folds in this one are as-issued & appear in all copies I've seen of this plate as it's a 'fold-out' & much larger than the rest which were octavo-sized bookplates.
These prints are very old & may have minor imperfections expected with age, such as some typical age-toning of the paper, oxidation of the old original watercolors, spots, text-offsetting, artifacts from having been bound into a book, etc. Please examine the photos & details carefully.
Text Page(s): This one comes with its original text page.
About this gorgeous flower:
Size: 10 x 11-1/2" inches approximately.
Shipping: Multiple prints combine into one USPS Flat-Rate envelope. If you'd like to combine & need more time to choose, please send a message & we'll do our best to oblige. If you're assessed multiple shipping for one combined package, we'll endeavor to refund any overage asap.
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