antique prints, maps and watercolors

(Narcissus, Spiderwort) ...System of Vegetables. London: J. White 1799. $55.00

click for detailed image martynspiderwortvlg.jpg "Plate XIV. Hexandria. Traescantia Virginica. Virginian Spiderwort."

a pretty engraving of some favorite flowers 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 some spotting with overall patina.
With accompanying text.