By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine
Illustrations courtesy Lowry-James Rare Prints & Books, ABAA
Botanical prints are an endless delight—especially the old ones. Many are hand-colored lithographs or engravings made not long after subject plants became known, or when there were big enough collections of plants like roses to merit a pictorial catalog.
All make wonderful holiday gifts, when you can find them. Lowry-James Rare Prints and Books is a Northwest source I've recently learned about. Operated by Priscilla Lowry-Gregor and based on Whidbey Island, the business has about 100,000 images, so what you see online represents just the tip of the iceberg. Nearly all were made during the Age of Discovery (1500–1900). You can get a wide selection of illustrations, matted, for $150 or so, but prices run into the thousands.
I asked Priscilla to name some of her favorite pieces, and she gave me some links you might enjoy following:
Sir Joseph Paxton's Magazine of Botany London 1836-45
Van Houtte's Flore des Serres; Ghent, 1845–1888
Miss Giraud's Flowers of Shakespeare; London, 1845
Miss Giraud's Flowers of Milton; London, 1846
Fruits of New York State; Albany, 1851
George Brookshaw's Pomona Britannica; London, 1817
She also offers a collection of botanical books.
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