George Brookshaw

BROOKSHAW. A Pair of Melons: White Seed'd Rock and Silver Rock Mellon

1812

Set of 4 double-page mezzotint engravings, printed in colour and finished by hand. [Published: H. Lentz and H.G. Neubauer, Regensburg, 1737]. An attractive collection of fine plates...

Magnificent print by Robert John Thornton. Aquatint and mezzotint, printed in colour and finished by hand, heightened with gum arabic, from The Temple of Flora. [London 1799] First state. Thornton was a prolific medical author and Doctor of Medicine, practicing at St Andrews University and licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians. However, he is best remembered for this great botanical publication The Temple of Flora, which formed a part of the larger work - New Illustration of the Sexual system of Linnaeus. In 1797, he also began advertising for subscribers to his planned natural history publishing venture, which eventually comprised of 30 folio botanical plates. For these remarkable illustrations, he engaged the services of the leading artists and engravers of his day: Sir William Beechey, James Opie, Henry Raeburn, John Russell, Philip Reinagle and others as painters; Francesco Bartolozzi, Richard Earlom and John Landseer. Most of the images were painted by Peter Charles Henderson and Philip Reinagle. These botanical illustrations are unique as they were the first flower prints with landscape backgrounds, depicting the natural habitat of the plant. The life-size flowers stand out dramatically and the whole effect is startlingly modern. Thornton's announced intention was to make this work the most magnificent tribute ever paid to the famous Swedish botanist Linnaeus by illustrating his Sexual System with the finest possible prints. All these were engraved on a larger scale than anything which had hitherto appeared and then were printed in colour, an expensive and uncommon method in England at this time. A brilliant effect. This rare and celebrated plate of the Roses...

This is a 19th century colored aquatint and stipple engraving finished by hand entitled "Silver Rock Melon", drawn and engraved by George Brookshaw and published in London in 1812 as plate 67 in his 'Pomona Britannica; or, A Collection of the Most Esteemed Fruits'. It depicts a Silver Rock Melon still on the vine, but the melon lies on a heater green mat. A wedge of the melon has been dissected to reveal its inner anatomy, including the seeds. The melon skin is a heather and light green color, while the inner portions are a light peach color. The vine and leaves are shown attractive shades of light green and there are soft yellow flowers. The plant is displayed on a light brown textured background with shadows to impart 3-dimensionality. The scene is reminiscent of an engraving in an 18th century artistically stylized human anatomy atlas. There are wide white margins. The title and inscription lies within the lower border. This striking engraving is presented in a reddish brown decorative wood frame with a darker brown scroll-work outer trim and a gold-colored inner fillet and a thick heather green mat. The frame measures 25.75" high, 21.5" wide and 1.13" deep. It is glazed with UV conservation glass. There is a short thin vertical line of discoloration in the lower margin through the word "melon" and a tiny spot in the upper margin on the left. The print and frame are otherwise in excellent condition. There is a second Brookshaw engraving that is framed in identical moulding, although a slightly different size and a different color mat. t depicts a cluster of grapes. The two prints would make a striking display pairing...

Hand-coloured mezzotint engravings from: ""Phytanthoza Iconographia"", c1739, presented in hand-made parcel-gilt, ebonised and decalcomania frames. Johann Weinmann (1683-1741), a G...