Henry Curtis Set of Nine Botanical Engravings, the Beauty of the Rose

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Henry Curtis Set of Nine Botanical Engravings, the Beauty of the Rose

About the Item

Set of nine botanical engravings Henry Curtis, 'Beauties of the Rose' Hand-colored Lithographs, 1850 (NY9184-B-nrrr) In this beautiful book 'Beauties of the Rose' Henry Curtis, as well as writing the text, drew all the illustrations on a stone so that they could be lithographed for this book, which has two volumes and thirty-eight hand-colored lithographic plates. Each print is a hand-colored lithograph heightened with gum Arabic showing a prized specimen of the day in full bloom. The roses are beautiful indeed! Dimensions: 18 3/4 inches high x 14 7/8 inches wide x 3/4 inches high Henry Curtis himself owned two nurseries in Bristol England in the 1800’s. The stock of these establishments provided the specimens for his publication The Beauties of the Rose by Henry Curtis. It seems that Henry Curtis drew the roses he sold in his nursery and wrote about them from personal experience. He admits to choosing them "to sit for their portraits when in their best trim" because he wanted to "portray our National emblem and Flora's Pride" in its truest form. He suggests that "its many beauties of form and color have hitherto been so variously described, as to tend rather to confuse than to explain" and that "faithfully-drawn and colored portraits must convey a much better idea of this flower than any verbal description, During the early part of the century, changes were being made and engraving on metal plates became more usual. By 1850 lithography had become the norm for producing illustrations. It required the design to be drawn on the surface of a slab of a special limestone using ink or crayon with high grease content. The stone absorbed the grease, making the image water repellant. For printing the stone was sponged with water which was accepted only by the non-design areas, then rolled with ink, which repelled by the damp stone, adhered only to the image. Paper was laid on and the stone taken through the press. The designs were then colored by hand.

Dimensions:
Height: 18.75 in (47.63 cm)Width: 14.77 in (37.52 cm)Depth: 0.75 in (1.91 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 9
Style:
Early Victorian (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Paper
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
Mid-19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1850
Condition:
No framed in gilt frames, double matted and UV glass.
Seller Location:
Downingtown, PA
Reference Number:
Seller: NY9184-B-nrrr1stDibs: LU861023027042