Bidspirit auction | Curtis - Eastern Poppy [Papaver

Curtis - Eastern Poppy [Papaver orientale]. 57 - This lovely botanical print is from William Curtis’s ”The Botanical Magazine, or Flower-Garden Displayed”. Curtis was determined to produce a scientifically accurate journal, and so took care that artists used live speicmens for reference. Each plate features a meticulously drawn specimen with an accompanying descriptive text for each (when available). The first 70 volumes (1787-mid1800s) were printed using copper etching and then finished with watercolor added by hand. Around the mid-1800s the images were completed by lithography with hand-coloring. Commonly referred to as ” Curtis' Botanical Magazine”, this prolific periodical was first published in 1787 and is still in publication today by the Kew Gardens. Paper Size: ~ 5 1/4 - 3/4” by 8 3/4 - 9 1/2” Paper Type or Special Features: Originally Hand-colored Botanical Engraving or Lithograph