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William CurtisFlowering Sea Onion: A 19th Century Hand-colored Engraving by William Curtis1806
1806
About the Item
This early 19th century hand-colored double fold-out botanical engraving is entitled "Ornithogalum Squilla" (Common Red-rooted Sea-Onion or Officinal Squill), plate 918, published in London in 1806 in William Curtis’s 'The Botanical Magazine, or Flower-Garden Displayed'. This beautiful colorful and detailed botanical engraving has two vertical folds, as issued. There is slight irregularity of the right edge of the sheet where it had been bound in the journal. It is otherwise in excellent condition. The original English descriptive pages from the publication are included.
William Curtis (1746-1799) was an English botanist and entomologist. His first career was as an apothecary, but subsequently focussed on natural history. He became an author in his mid twenties, publishing a treatise on collecting and preserving insects. He worked as at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1771 to 1777, but then established his own London Botanic Garden in 1779. He began publishing 'The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed' an illustrated botanical publication, in 1787. It has become the longest published botanical magazine in history, still published currently. William Curtis was precise in his approach to the research and illustration of plants for the journal. Each illustration is done with attention to detail and color, using copperplate engraving and etching techniques and hand-coloring with watercolor paints. Each print is accompanied by an extensive textual description of the plant, including its scientific features.
- Creator:William Curtis (1746 - 1799, American)
- Creation Year:1806
- Dimensions:Height: 9 in (22.86 cm)Width: 11.5 in (29.21 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Framing:Framing Options Available
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Alamo, CA
- Reference Number:
William Curtis
The 18th century saw an intersection of science and art, especially where it came to botanicals. Artists who had formerly devoted their practice to unique oil paintings of flowers now engaged the media of illustration, as an interest in cataloging flora grew and subscription publications began to thrive. Scientists also crossed the divide, delving into etching, and curating artists and works for issues of botanical magazines. William Curtis was one such botanist. For 13 volumes, Curtis engaged the artistic expertise of dozens of botanical artists to illustrate published guides on plants, beginning in 1787. The hundreds of hand-etched, hand-colored plates are actually unattributed, meaning we don’t see a particular artists’ name or signature, though we know that William Curtis commissioned and curated them. These handmade prints are now treated as individual, collectible works in themselves.
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