The Persian Cyclamen. The Temple of Flora. London, 1804. $2,250.00

The Persian Cyclamen

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's botanical work was to be a "pictorial celebration" including magnificent images, poetry and verse, of the Linnaean botanical system.

He chose selected exotic specimens and placed each in an 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 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 only 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 rare.

The flowering white cyclamen plant occupies the foreground of the image. A dark castle is set against mountains in the far distant background.

Framed to 23 ½ x 29 5/8 inches overall.
Hand colored aquatint, mezzotint and stipple engraving.
Some browning of far edges of print. Not visible when matted.