Robert John Thornton's The Temple of Flora is the most famous English botanical plate book ever produced. Thornton, trained as a physician, but when he inherited his family's fortune, he decided to leave his mark on the world by creating an ambitious series of botanical publications dedicated to the work of the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus. Linnaeus had revolutionized the world of science in 1735 by developing an entirely new classification system for plants and animals. The golden age of plant illustration followed his discoveries. Thornton created his beautiful botanical work as a "pictorial celebration" of Linnaeas with magnificent images, poetry and verse.
He selected exotic specimens and placed each in a romantic setting replete with symbolism. He hired the finest aquatint artists, engravers and colorists and opened an art gallery to display the original works. He set out to produce 70 different images but Thornton was not a very successful marketer and the cost of producing the wildly expensive work brought him to the edge of financial ruin. He ended by publishing a series of 28 are undeniably spectacular prints of flowers. Each is a distinctive and evocative image that is very highly valued by print collectors. Good, crisp impressions with well preserved original coloring, such as this one, are very rare.

28 x 22 inches, overall.
Hand colored aquatint, mezzotint and stipple engraving.
Light mat stain well outside of plate. Very nice condition overall.
Framed to museum specifications.