(Amaryllis) Priscilla Susan Bury. Crinum Ornatum. London, 1831-34. $3,750.00

"Crinum Ornatum"

Priscilla Susan Bury was born into a wealthy family whose large estate had a number of greenhouses. She had no formal artistic training, but like many well to do Victorian ladies, she had leisure time she could devote to botanical painting.  Mrs. Bury honed her craft by constantly drawing flowers; especially lilies. By 1830, she had produced a collection of impressive drawings.  The noted botanist, William Roscoe, was so impressed by Mrs. Bury"s work that he encouraged her to publish a book based on her art. the result was the magnificent A Selection of Hexandrian Plants. 

Mrs. Bury's fine drawings and keen observations were enhanced by the man she hired to be her engraver, Robert Havell, the same engraver John James Audubon selected for his renowned The Birds of America.  Under Mrs. Bury's supervision, Havell produced 51 gorgeous engravings on over sized sheets of paper large enough to depict all of the images life-size.  The resulting stunningly beautiful images are described by the acknowledged authority on botanical prints, Gordon Dunthorne, as "Finely coloured plates of perfect technique, very decorative and "modern" in feeling" (Dunthorne, #71) They are all that and more.

Only 79 copies of this engraving were printed, making it among the rarest of all antique botanicals.

Hand colored aquatinted engraving.
25 x 18  inches, sheet.
Complete with accompanying sheet of text.
Very good condition save repaired tear in lower left margin.
Nicely preserved original color.
Framed to museum specifications with gold leaf frame