4 18th c. BOTANICAL ENGRAVINGS

A set of four Hand Colored Floral Botanical Engravings, Late 18th c. London. Matching frames. All professionally framed and matted. In frame each 11 1/2"x14 1/2"x3/4". Weight on all 7 pds 5 oz. PROVENANCE: Gippy Plantation, Berkeley County. William Curtis (1746-1799) - renowned English botanist, pharmacist and entomologist. These botanical engraving are from William Curtis’s The Botanical Magazine, or Flower-Garden Displayed. Curtis was determined to produce a scientifically accurate journal, and so took care that artists used live specimens for reference. Each plate features a meticulously drawn specimen with an accompanying descriptive text for each. The first 70 volumes (1787-mid1800s) were printed using copper etching and then finished with watercolor added by hand. Commonly referred to as Curtis' Botanical Magazine, this prolific periodical was first published in 1787 and is still in publication today by the Kew Gardens.