James Sowerby's "English Botany" 1863-6 Hand colored botanical lithographs

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James Sowerby's English Botany (1860s)

Original hand-coloured lithographs over 150 years old

Sheet size: approximately 6.25 x 9.75 inches

James Sowerby
—painted by Thomas Heaphy (1816)

Having decided to become a painter of flowers his first venture was with William Curtis, whose Flora Londinensis he illustrated. Sowerby studied art at the Royal Academy and took an apprenticeship with Richard Wright.

An early commission for Sowerby was to lead to his prominence in the field when the botanist, L'Hértier de Brutelle invited Sowerby to provide the plates for his monograph, Geranologia, and two later works. He also came to the notice of William Curtis, who was undertaking a new type of publication. Early volumes of the first British botany journal, The Botanical Magazine, contained seventy of his works.

In 1790, he began the first of several huge projects: a 36-volume work on the botany of England that was published over the next 24 years, contained 2592 hand-coloured engravings and became known as Sowerby's English Botany. An enormous number of plants were to receive their formal publication, but the authority for these came from the unattributed text written by James Edward Smith.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE THUMBNAIL IMAGES FOR AN ENLARGED VIEW

Alpine Meadow Rue

Thalictrum Alpinum

PLATE 2

$15

light foxing

Lesser Meadow Rue

Thalictrum minus, maritimum

PLATE 3

$15

light foxing

Lesser Meadow Rue

Thalictrum minus, montanum

PLATE 4

$15

light foxing

Koch's Meadow Rue

Thalictrum Kochii

PLATE 6

$15

Stone Meadow Rue

Thalictrum Saxatile

PLATE 7

$15

River Water-crowfoot

Ranunculus fluitans

PLATE 16

$15

Common Water-crowfoot

Ranunculus peltatus vulgaris

PLATE 17

$15

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Various leaved Water-crowfoot

Ranunculus heterophyllus

PLATE 19

$15

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Baudot's Water-crowfoot (?)

Ranunculus Baudotii Confusa

PLATE 23

$15

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Lenormand's Water-crowfoot

Ranunculus Lenormandi

PLATE 25

$15

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Lesser Spearwort

Ranunculus eu-Flammula

PLATE 29

$15

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Bulbous Crowfoot

Ranunculus bulbosus

PLATE 35

$15

light foxing

Small flowered Crowfoot

Ranunculus parviflorus

PLATE 37

$15

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper and small hole in paper on lower left side

Corn Crowfoot

Ranunculus arvensis

PLATE 38

$15

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Creeping Marsh Mary-gold

Caltha radicans

PLATE 41

$15

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Common Columbine

Aquilegia vulgaris

PLATE 46

$40

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Common Barberry

Berberis vulgaris

PLATE 51

$25

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

White Water-lily

Nymphaea alba

PLATE 53

$35

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Common Yellow Water-lily

Nuphar lutea, var. major

PLATE 54

$35

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Common Yellow Water-lily

Nuphar lutea, var. minor

PLATE 55

$35

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Lamotte's long-smooth-headed Poppy

Papaver Lamottei

PLATE 59

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Celandine

Chelidonium majus

PLATE 67

$20

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Pale flowered Fumitory

Fumaria Pallidiflora

PLATE 72

$20

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper, also unobtrusive 'scored lines' that appear to be original to the making of the paper

Common Fumitory

Fumaria officinalis

PLATE 76

$20

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Sea Kale

Crambe maritima

PLATE 80

$20

very light browning/foxing around edges of paper

Wild Radish

Raphanus Raphanistrum

PLATE 81

$20

light foxing/browning around edges of paper

Sea Radish

Raphanus maritima

PLATE 82

$20

very light foxing/browning around edges of paper

Wild Mustard

Brassica Sinapistrum

PLATE 83

$20

light foxing/browning around edges of paper

White Mustard

Brassica alba

PLATE 84

$20

light browning around edges of paper

Hoary Mustard

Brassica adpressa

PLATE 86

$20

light browning around edges of paper

Sea Cabbage

Brassica oleracca

PLATE 87

$20

light browning around edges of paper

Rape

Brassica napus

PLATE 88

$15

foxing lower right and light browning around edges of paper

Wild Neveu

Brassica campestris

PLATE 89

$20

light browning around edges of paper

Common Turnip

Brassica rapa

PLATE 90

$20

light browning around edges of paper, unobtrusive paper abrasion at top, outside of image area

Dwarf wallflower-cabbage

Brassica eu-monensis

PLATE 91

$20

light browning around edges of paper

Wall Rocket

Brassica tenuifolia

PLATE 93

$15

light browning around edges of paper, fox marks on right side

Garlic hedge-mustard

Sisymbrium Alliaria

PLATE 100

$20

light browning around edges of paper, light fox marks

Antique Botanical Prints home

James Sowerby —painted by Thomas Heaphy (1816)

James Sowerby
—painted by Thomas Heaphy (1816)