"The White Lily", The Temple of Flora, London: August 1, 1800. $4,250.00

A wonderful example of the hard to find original antique hand colored engravings by the quirky Dr. Robert John Thornton.

This engraving was included as in illustration to Dr. Thornton’s magnus opus, The Temple of Flora, considered the most famous English botanical book ever produced. Thornton was trained as a physician, but upon his inheritance 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 scientific community in 1735 by developing an entirely new classification system for plants and animals. The golden age of plant illustration followed his discoveries. Thornton’s botanical work was to be a “pictorial celebration” including magnificent images, poetry and verse of the Linnaean botanical system.

Dr. Thornton chose exotic botanical specimens and positioned each in a romantic setting replete with symbolism as the subject of his flower prints. He hired the finest aquatint artists, engravers and colorists and opened an art gallery to display the original works. He intended to produce 70 unique botanical portraits, but his pocketbook did not match his vision. Thornton was not successful at marketing his works and the costs of producing the wildly expensive plates practically bankrupted him. He was able to create 28 undeniably spectacular prints. Each is a distinctive and evocative image, very highly valued by print collectors. Good, crisp impressions with well preserved original coloring, such as this one, are very so difficult to find.

“The White Lily, now often called the Madonna Lily, is one of the oldest companions of mankind and, in the virginal purity of its appearance, one of the loveliest...It was given its Latin name by the Roman poet Virgil and seems to have been taken by the Romans everywhere they went, since it is found apparently wild in nearly all the countries of their former empire....The plant portrayed in this plate is a rare form with yellow-margined leaves. It is noteworthy for its very dark background, chosen to set off the light colours of the flowers and leaves”
Ref:  King, Ronald, The Temple of Flora, pg. 86

22 x 17 inches, overall.
Hand colored aquatint, mezzotint and stipple engraving.
Very good condition, margins trimmed outside of plate.