Antique Botanical Print of the "Surinam Centropogon" by Sir Joseph Paxton

Details

Description

Botanical Print of Centropogon surinamensis from Paxton’s Magazine of Botany

S. Holden, del. & lith. | In: Paxton’s Magazine of … Read more Botanical Print of Centropogon surinamensis from Paxton’s Magazine of Botany

S. Holden, del. & lith. | In: Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, vol. 13, p. 149 | London: Bradbury and Evans, 1847

A fine original hand-coloured lithograph depicting Centropogon surinamensis, the Surinam centropogon, drawn and lithographed by S. Holden for Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants, volume 13, page 149 (1847). The plate presents the plant with characteristic botanical authority: a compact rosette of deep green, broad-veined leaves supports a cluster of elongated pink tubular flowers with recurved tips, rendered with the fresh, naturalistic colouring typical of the finest plates from the series. The plant name is inscribed in cursive script below the image, with the lithographer’s credit “S. Holden del. & Lith.” to the lower left. Presented in a marbled French mat with gilt fillet and a warm gold-toned frame, and fitted with Denglas UV-protective, low-reflection glazing.

Dimensions
16¼ inches (41.3 cm) high,
14 inches (35.6 cm) wide,
1 inch (2.5 cm) deep (framed).

Provenance
Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge.

Condition
Good. Denglas UV-protective low-reflection glazing fitted.

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.

S. Holden, active 1834–1849, served as both draughtsman (del.) and lithographer (lith.) throughout the run, and the quality of his chromolithographic work—particularly the rendering of tropical exotica introduced to British horticulture in this period—is widely admired by collectors.

Centropogon surinamensis (family Campanulaceae) is a South American species cultivated in British glasshouses from the early nineteenth century, notable for its hummingbird-pollinated tubular flowers.

(Ref: NY11176-irrx) See less