Antique Botanical Prints by Sir Joseph Paxton From the Magazine of Botany

Details

Description

Pair of Botanical Prints from Paxton’s Magazine of Botany: Rhododendron standishii and Camellia japonica miniata (Low’s)

S. Holden, del. & … Read more Pair of Botanical Prints from Paxton’s Magazine of Botany: Rhododendron standishii and Camellia japonica miniata (Low’s)

S. Holden, del. & lith. (Rhododendron); lithographer unidentified (Camellia); In: Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, London: Bradbury and Evans

Rhododendron: vol. 15, p. 210, 1849; Camellia: vol. 14, 1848

A fine pair of original hand-coloured lithographs from Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants, presented together in matching marbled French mats with gilt fillets and warm gold-toned frames, and fitted with Denglas UV-protective, low-reflection glazing.

The first print depicts Rhododendron × standishii, published in volume 15, page 210 (1849) — among the final and most spectacular plates in the entire run, showing a dense truss of large rose-pink blooms shading to lilac-white at the margins, borne above a whorl of broad, deep green leaves. The plant name is inscribed in cursive script below the image, with the lithographer’s credit “S. Holden del. & Lith.” to the lower left.

The second print depicts Camellia japonica miniata (Low’s), published in volume 14 (1848), a named cultivar raised by the Low nursery. It is rendered with exceptional delicacy: a fully double bloom of tightly imbricated petals in deep rose-red with a pale cream centre, accompanied by a rounded bud and glossy dark green foliage on a clean stem. The plant name is inscribed in cursive script below the image.

Dimensions
Each print (framed):
15¾ inches (40 cm) high,
13½ inches (34.3 cm) wide,
1 inch (2.5 cm) deep.

Provenance
Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge.

Condition
Good. Denglas UV-protective low-reflection glazing fitted to both frames.

Historical Context
Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants was published in London by Bradbury and Evans between 1834 and 1849 under the editorship of Joseph Paxton (1803–1865)—the celebrated gardener, architect of the Crystal Palace, and head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth.

The publication ran to sixteen volumes and is distinguished by its high standard of illustration: copper engravings by F. W. Smith and lithographs by S. Holden, with woodcut vignettes by C. J. Fleming and O. Jewitt. Staflěu & Cowan record some 723 coloured plates in the standard copy, making it one of the most ambitious British botanical periodicals of the Victorian era.

Rhododendron × standishii is a complex hybrid involving R. arboreum, R. catawbiense, R. maximum, and R. ponticum, raised by Standish & Noble of Bagshot and formally described in Paxton’s Magazine in the final volume of 1849.

The camellia cultivar miniata, offered by the Low nursery (Hugh Low & Co. of Clapton, one of the most celebrated Victorian horticultural firms), represents the intense Victorian enthusiasm for named camellia varieties, which were eagerly collected, exhibited, and propagated in heated glasshouses throughout the period.

(Ref: NY11176-irrx) See less