1735,RARE TRUE BLACKWELL'S HERBARIUM HandPainted FOLIO THE MEDLAR TREE XER

Description: Title "A curious Herbal" Author/Artist Elizabeth Blackwell Date 1737-1739 Sizes 9" x 14" 1/2 (23 x 37 cm) Description Numbered copper engraving. Beautiful original hand coloring. Names in English. Rare First Edition. Hand coloured by E. Blackwell herself. "A Curious Herbal" By E.Blackwell Biography of the Artist. Elizabeth Blackwell (1707 – 1758) Born in Aberdeen in 1707, Elizabeth was a botanical illustrator and author. The story behind Elizabeth Blackwell is indeed a fascinating one. She was trained as artist and married with Alexander Blackwell, a Scottish doctor. The young couple moved to London where Alexander abandoned the medical career to establish a printing activity. He was starting to successfully establish himself, but was ruined by rival printers who resented the fact that he had never been apprenticed to their trade. Alexander was sent to a debtor's prison, but Elizabeth was soon to come to his rescue. Elizabeth appealed for help from Sir Hans Sloane. He suggested to her that there was a market for a Herbal of medicinal plants and that it should make enough money to secure her husband's release. She embarked upon her monumental work ‘A Curious Herbal’ with help on the text from her incarcerated husband. The funds from the publishing of the work between 1737 to 1759 secured Alexander's release. In 1742 Elizabeth accompanied her husband to Sweden where Alexander was employed as an agricultural expert (Linnaeus visited him in 1746). Sadly, a while later, Alexander became envolved in politics, was arrested and beheaded on 29 July 1747, for his part in a conspiracy to alter the Swedish succession. Elizabeth Blackwell publications: - A curious herbal: containing five hundred cuts, of the most useful plants, which are now used in the practice of physick engraved on folio copper plates, after drawings taken from the life / by Elizabeth Blackwell. To which is added a short description of ye plants and their common uses in physick (1737 – 1739). Elizabeth, who died in 1758, is buried in the churchyard of Chelsea Old Church. Description of the work. We are pleased to offer a selection of prints from the rare first edition of "A Curious Herbal", published in London between 1737 and 1739. This monumental work is one of the first botanical publications by a woman of the first English botanical books to be issued in parts. Elizabeth Blackwell undertook the work with the encouragement Sir Hans Sloane and with the intention of paying off her husband Alexander's debts. Sir Sloane suggested to her that there was a market for a Herbal of medicinal plants and for exotic plants from the New World. She took a house opposite the Chelsea Physic Garden, at 4, Swan Walk, at the suggestion of Isaac Reed, in order to draw and engrave the plants where many of these were under cultivation. Abridging the text of Miller's Botanicum Officinale her husband helped by supplying the common names of the plants in various languages and the scientific information. Elizabeth made not only the drawings for his herbal but also etched and engraved the copper-plates, and afterwoods coloured the 500 printed illustrations by hand. Each print in folio edition measure approximately 9” by 14” ½ (23 by 37 cm). The condition of these prints is superb, with characteristic strong plate. Wonderful chained hand made watermarked paper . There is no foxing on clean watermarked paper. Near brand new! There is no descriptive text. Bibliography Reference: Nissen Botany 168; Hunt p. 510; Henry 453; Lisney 175-180. Cleveland Collections 386; Dunthorne 42; Great Flower Books, p.50; Hunt 510; Pritzel 811; Stafleu & Cowan TL2 545.

Price: 230 USD

Location: Canavaccio

End Time: 2024-11-07T07:52:53.000Z

Shipping Cost: 17.5 USD