Description

John Edwards' The British Herbal

These beautifully designed botanical engravings with original hand-coloring are from the original first edition of John Edwards' The British Herbal Containing One Hundred Plates of The most beautiful and scarce Flowers and Useful Medicinal Plants..., published in 1770. Dunthorne calls it "A fine work with many fine plates". Edwards allowed for some artistic license in creating the illustrations which enabled him to concentrate on the stunning design possibilities of nature's beauties. While this didn't appeal to the scientific readers of the time, we are able to enjoy his rare pieces today with ease.

The work was published again in 1775 under the name A Select Collection of ...Exotic and British Flowers. The prints here are from the original publish date in 1770. They are on fine chain-linked paper with a J Whatman or decorative shield watermark that measures ~ 10 ½" by 16 ¼".

Ref: Hunt volume 2