Description
John Parkinson's The Garden of Pleasant Flowers
This beautiful botanical engraving comes from John Parkinson's Paradisi in Sole, Paradisus Terrestris (A Garden of Pleasant Flowers). The print available here is from a later 1904 edition of the work published in London by Methuen & Co. The original edition of this work was done in 1629. This later edition print is of a much higher quality than the original. Christopher Switzer provided the woodcuts for the work, many of which were after the work of Clusius & Lobel.
Parkinson was an apothecary and an original member of the Society of Apothecaries. He also served as First Botanist to the King under Charles I. Parkinson was considered a foremost gardener and herbalist in his time, and he used his knowledge to create this beautiful work.
The work is on fine chain-linked paper measuring ~ 9" by 14 1/4". The prints have later professional hand-coloring.