The Volumes:
The "Botanical Magazine" was first published in 1787 by William Curtis (1746-1799). After the death of William Curtis, the magazine was published by his brother, Thomas Curtis. Later, Samuel Curtis (a son-in-law of William Curtis) became proprietor from 1801 to 1845. The prints in the first volumes were copper plates colored by hand. Some of the later prints were lithographs.

Some of the distinguished artists were Sydenham Edwards, John Curtis, William Jackson Hooker, W.H. Fitch, William Graves and Matilda Smith. These prints have a universal beauty and are a lasting documentary contribution to botanical studies.

The Author:
William Curtis (11 January 1746 – 7 July 1799) was an English botanist and entomologist, who was born at Alton, Hampshire, site of the Curtis Museum. Curtis began as an apothecary, before turning his attention to botany and other natural history. He was demonstrator of plants and Praefectus Horti at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1771 to 1777. He established his own London Botanic Garden at Lambeth in 1779, moving to Brompton in 1789. He published the Flora Londinensis (6 volumes, 1777–1798), a pioneering work. he went on the publish The Botanical Magazine in 1787, a work that would also feature beautiful hand colored octavo-sized plates by artists such as James Sowerby and Sydenham Edwards. The Botanical Magazine was & remains immensely popular.

The Artists:
John Curtis was an English entomologist and botanical illustrator, born in Norwich. He learned his engraving skills in the workshop of his father, Charles Morgan Curtis. Charles Curtis died young and his widow, Frances, became a flower grower. She encouraged her son to study natural history with a local naturalist. At the age of 16 he became an apprentice at a local lawyer’s office, devoted his spare time to studying and drawing insects. With insect collecting becoming a growing craze at that time, he found he could make a living selling the specimens he found. He became a friend of Simon Wilkin and decided to leave his job at the lawyers office. He began living with Wilkin at Costessey, where he undertook systematic insect studies and learned engraving. Cuvier pronounced Curtis's ‘British Entomology’ to be ‘the paragon of perfection,’ 

The Plate:
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.

Text Page(s):
This one comes with its original letterpress, hand typeset page of text.

About this Gorgeous Flowering Plant:

• Echinops exaltatus, the Russian globe thistle or tall globe thistle,[2] is European species of globe thistle in the family Asteraceae. It is native to central and eastern Europe from Germany and Italy east into Russia.
• 
  

Size:
9-1/4 x 5-1/2" inches approximately.

Combined Shipping:
Yes! Multiple prints combine into one package. Ebay's shopping cart should auto-combine shipping if you put all your selections in your cart & chack-out at once. If you purchase multiple prints & are assessed more than one shipping, or if the cart check-out doesn't auto-combine, I'll endeavor to refund any overage asap.

Thanks for Visiting!