(Strawberries - Alpine) Pomologie Francais. Paris: Langlois et Le Clercq, 1846. $800.00

"Fraise de Alpes"

A charming original folio sized engraving from Pierre-Antoine Poiteau's masterpiece, Pomologie Francais. The illustrations wto this work on fruits were created by Monsieur Poiteau, along with his talented colleague Monsieur P.J. F. Turpin. These two men were the undisputed masters of the stipple engraving technique, and this work is the culmination of French color printing on a grand scale. First used by Pierre Joseph Redoute, court painter to Empress Josephine, a stipple engraving was painstakingly engraved on a copper plate and then inked up in colors and run through the press. After drying the engravings were "finished" by hand in watercolors. The Pomologie is one of the finest and rarest works on fruit utilizing this intricate method.

Stipple engraving, full original hand color.
16 x 11 inches.
Very good condition. Archival framing.