antique prints, maps and watercolors

(Iris) ...System of Vegetables. London: J. White, 1799. $50.00

click for detailed image martynirisvlg.jpg

Plate X. Triandria Monogynia. Iris pumila."

A pretty engraving of a favorite flower including all of the parts labeled and identified on the accompanying text.
Thomas Martyn was a Cambridge University professor of botany. This 18th century depiction of the plant was included in his publication entitled Thirty-eight Plates with explanations intended to illustrate Linneaeus’s System of
Vegetables. Martyn hired the talented F. Nodder to illustrate and engrave the illustrations. He intended for the work to be studied in conjunction with his Letters on the Elements of Botany.

8 1/8 x 5 inches, sheet,
Hand colored engraving with original color.
Good condition save minor soiling with overall patina.
With accompanying text.