ORIGINAL HAND-COLOURED COPPER ENGRAVING - Oxalis versicolor (Striped-Flower"d Wood-Sorrel) FROM CURTIS'S BOTANICAL MAGAZINE - Plate No. 155, dated 1791

London: W. Curtis, 1791. Print. Very Good. Unframed. First Edition. 14 x 23cm. A fine original hand-coloured copper engraving, dated 1791, an early plate from this famous work. The condition is very good, paper a little toned (supplied with accompanying text, but without mount). The quality of the illustrations in the Botanical Magazine is outstanding, both accurate and decorative, the colours vibrant. William Curtis (1746-1799) was a trained apothecary living in London, although his passion was for natural history, particularly plants and insects. He maintained a large well-stocked garden and began the publication of the Botanical Magazine in February 1787, which has gone on to become the most famous and influential botanical publication of its type; it is still published today, making it the longest running scientific periodical of all time. . (Please Note: we do not break books for plates, nor do we condone this practice. Our plates have either been purchased loose or have come from books that are so defective or incomplete that they are irreparable).