Botanical Illustrations
Many people probably think about our expansive gardens when they hear of The Huntington’s flora but plants also make up an important part of the art and library collections in the form of botanical illustrations. Beautiful and educational, these colorful depictions of plants ranging from the common to the exotic are rendered in such incredible details that you can almost feel the leaf textures. Studying these illustrations can help us perceive the natural world in the same inspiring way their creators once did and allow us to better appreciate the gardens we see.
Lady Elizabeth Parker Fane botanical album 1765-1767
Manuscripts
A botanical album created by Lady Elizabeth Parker Fane; she started painting the illustrations in this album in 1765 which means she was just 14 years old when she began. Flower painting had become a fashionable occupation for the wives and daughters of the great houses of England and Elizabeth Parker Fane achieved exceptional ability under the tutelage of Georg Ehret. The album contains 25 watercolor and gouache paintings on parchment; depicted are both sides of the plant's leaves and also shown are more than one reproductive stage for each specimen: with the early formation of the blossom, the growing petals, and the full expression of the flower. The images in the album depict numerous plant specimens, sometimes with butterflies and other insects, most likely local to the Macclesfield estate, Shirburn Castle, in Oxfordshire. Only a small number of the paintings contain titles, though a few are dated by the artist. The 25 paintings are laid into the volume and the remaining pages are blank. The album is bound in a contemporary, richly gilt morocco wallet binding, with a green silk chemise to wrap top and lower edges; the binding was done by an unidentified binder. The album has a lock and key fastening, though the lock has been deactivated, the key is kept with the companion volume mssHM 84100.
mssHM 84101
Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield, botanical album, 1756-1767
Manuscripts
A botanical album created by Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield; she started the album in 1756 when she was 30 years of age. Flower painting had become a fashionable occupation for the wives and daughters of the great houses of England and Mary Parker achieved exceptional ability under the tutelage of Georg Ehret. The album contains 48 watercolor and gouache paintings on parchment; depicted are both sides of the plant's leaves and also shown are more than one reproductive stage for each specimen: with the early formation of the blossom, the growing petals, and the full expression of the flower. The images in the album depict numerous plant specimens, sometimes with butterflies and other insects, most likely local to the Macclesfield estate, Shirburn Castle, in Oxfordshire. Many of the illustrations are identified by names predating Carl Linnaeus' binomial plant nomenclature in his "Species Plantarum" (1753), while other notations on the illustrations include Linnaeus' names. The album is bound in a contemporary, richly gilt morocco wallet binding, with interior green silk ties; the binding is likely by Richard Montagu. The pages in the album are marked with the Macclesfield armorial blind stamp. It has a lock and key fastening, and while the original key is present, the lock has been deactivated by a professional restorer, please do not attempt to use the key; also present is a red velvet bookmark.
mssHM 84100
Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield, botanical album, 1756-1767
Manuscripts
A botanical album created by Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield; she started the album in 1756 when she was 30 years of age. Flower painting had become a fashionable occupation for the wives and daughters of the great houses of England and Mary Parker achieved exceptional ability under the tutelage of Georg Ehret. The album contains 48 watercolor and gouache paintings on parchment; depicted are both sides of the plant's leaves and also shown are more than one reproductive stage for each specimen: with the early formation of the blossom, the growing petals, and the full expression of the flower. The images in the album depict numerous plant specimens, sometimes with butterflies and other insects, most likely local to the Macclesfield estate, Shirburn Castle, in Oxfordshire. Many of the illustrations are identified by names predating Carl Linnaeus' binomial plant nomenclature in his "Species Plantarum" (1753), while other notations on the illustrations include Linnaeus' names. The album is bound in a contemporary, richly gilt morocco wallet binding, with interior green silk ties; the binding is likely by Richard Montagu. The pages in the album are marked with the Macclesfield armorial blind stamp. It has a lock and key fastening, and while the original key is present, the lock has been deactivated by a professional restorer, please do not attempt to use the key; also present is a red velvet bookmark.
mssHM 84100
Lady Elizabeth Parker Fane botanical album 1765-1767
Manuscripts
A botanical album created by Lady Elizabeth Parker Fane; she started painting the illustrations in this album in 1765 which means she was just 14 years old when she began. Flower painting had become a fashionable occupation for the wives and daughters of the great houses of England and Elizabeth Parker Fane achieved exceptional ability under the tutelage of Georg Ehret. The album contains 25 watercolor and gouache paintings on parchment; depicted are both sides of the plant's leaves and also shown are more than one reproductive stage for each specimen: with the early formation of the blossom, the growing petals, and the full expression of the flower. The images in the album depict numerous plant specimens, sometimes with butterflies and other insects, most likely local to the Macclesfield estate, Shirburn Castle, in Oxfordshire. Only a small number of the paintings contain titles, though a few are dated by the artist. The 25 paintings are laid into the volume and the remaining pages are blank. The album is bound in a contemporary, richly gilt morocco wallet binding, with a green silk chemise to wrap top and lower edges; the binding was done by an unidentified binder. The album has a lock and key fastening, though the lock has been deactivated, the key is kept with the companion volume mssHM 84100.
mssHM 84101
Pink and its parts
Visual Materials
Image of a dianthus flower with four surrounding diagrams showing parts of the flower, including captions to label the pistils, stamens, ovary, and other parts.
priJLC_PRG_002119
![[Proof sheet for Prang's natural history series: shapes of leaves, I and shapes of leaves, II.]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Frail.huntington.org%2FIIIF3%2FImage%2F22APN4EQVM57%2Ffull%2F%5E360%2C%2F0%2Fdefault.jpg&w=750&q=75)
[Proof sheet for Prang's natural history series: shapes of leaves, I and shapes of leaves, II.]
Visual Materials
Image of a proof sheet of 24 album cards of leaf shapes from Prang's Natural History Series; issued in two sets of 12 cards; each card lists the common and botanical name for each kind of leaf along with the name of the specific plant illustrated.
priJLC_PRG_002122
芥子園畫譜. Pt. 3
Rare Books
Part 3 of a four part set of woodblock-printed books; this part divided into four volumes. Presents the methods and principles of Chinese painting. The books cover a wide range of topics from trees, rocks, landscapes, flowers, plants, animals, insects, human figures and architectural designs. The preparation and application of colors on paper are also discussed. The mustard seed manual was highly influencial amongst artists and historians and became widely available throughout East Asia as evidenced by its prolific edition history through the 18th to 20th centuries. It is also an example of early Chinese multi-color woodblock printing.
653643
芥子園畫譜. Pt. 2
Rare Books
Part 2 of a four part set of woodblock-printed books; this part divided into four volumes. Presents the methods and principles of Chinese painting. The books cover a wide range of topics from trees, rocks, landscapes, flowers, plants, animals, insects, human figures and architectural designs. The preparation and application of colors on paper are also discussed. The mustard seed manual was highly influencial amongst artists and historians and became widely available throughout East Asia as evidenced by its prolific edition history through the 18th to 20th centuries. It is also an example of early Chinese multi-color woodblock printing.
653643
芥子園畫譜. Pt. 3
Rare Books
Part 3 of a four part set of woodblock-printed books; this part divided into four volumes. Presents the methods and principles of Chinese painting. The books cover a wide range of topics from trees, rocks, landscapes, flowers, plants, animals, insects, human figures and architectural designs. The preparation and application of colors on paper are also discussed. The mustard seed manual was highly influencial amongst artists and historians and became widely available throughout East Asia as evidenced by its prolific edition history through the 18th to 20th centuries. It is also an example of early Chinese multi-color woodblock printing.
653643
芥子園畫譜. Pt. 3
Rare Books
Part 3 of a four part set of woodblock-printed books; this part divided into four volumes. Presents the methods and principles of Chinese painting. The books cover a wide range of topics from trees, rocks, landscapes, flowers, plants, animals, insects, human figures and architectural designs. The preparation and application of colors on paper are also discussed. The mustard seed manual was highly influencial amongst artists and historians and became widely available throughout East Asia as evidenced by its prolific edition history through the 18th to 20th centuries. It is also an example of early Chinese multi-color woodblock printing.
653643
Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield, botanical album, 1756-1767
Manuscripts
A botanical album created by Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield; she started the album in 1756 when she was 30 years of age. Flower painting had become a fashionable occupation for the wives and daughters of the great houses of England and Mary Parker achieved exceptional ability under the tutelage of Georg Ehret. The album contains 48 watercolor and gouache paintings on parchment; depicted are both sides of the plant's leaves and also shown are more than one reproductive stage for each specimen: with the early formation of the blossom, the growing petals, and the full expression of the flower. The images in the album depict numerous plant specimens, sometimes with butterflies and other insects, most likely local to the Macclesfield estate, Shirburn Castle, in Oxfordshire. Many of the illustrations are identified by names predating Carl Linnaeus' binomial plant nomenclature in his "Species Plantarum" (1753), while other notations on the illustrations include Linnaeus' names. The album is bound in a contemporary, richly gilt morocco wallet binding, with interior green silk ties; the binding is likely by Richard Montagu. The pages in the album are marked with the Macclesfield armorial blind stamp. It has a lock and key fastening, and while the original key is present, the lock has been deactivated by a professional restorer, please do not attempt to use the key; also present is a red velvet bookmark.
mssHM 84100
![Natural y General Hystoria de las Indias, 1539-1548. [volume 2]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Frail.huntington.org%2FIIIF3%2FImage%2F22APN4UVRT9%2Ffull%2F%5E360%2C%2F0%2Fdefault.jpg&w=750&q=75)
Natural y General Hystoria de las Indias, 1539-1548. [volume 2]
Manuscripts
Paper; ff. i (contemporary) + 107 + i (contemporary); modern foliation in vol. 2 runs 11-117 since ff. 1-10, formerly bound with this volume, were removed in 1976 and catalogued as HM 37542. Vol. 2: 1¹² 2¹²(-11, 12) 3¹² 4²²(-22) 5⁴ 6-7¹² 8¹²(plus bifolium between 1 and 2) 9¹⁰. 290 x 210 (220-232 x 105-110) mm. The lower margin of the last 8 leaves are completely cut away. Written in the hand of the author. Catchwords enclosed in brown ink scrolls in the middle or right lower margins. Leaf signatures in roman numerals in the middle of the lower margin; quire and leaf signatures in a later hand in letters and arabic numerals, frequently including the seventh leaf of a quire, in the right lower margin close under the text. 32-38 long lines; vertical bounding lines ruled in dry point. The manuscript was written probably in Santo Domingo between 1539-46 and completed in Spain in 1546-48: the dates given in the text are March 1539, in Book IV, chap. 7 and 1548 in the prologue of Book VI. Illustrated with 24 pen and ink drawings by the author, a few shaded in black lead. Marginal notes in 3 hands: i, the author's corrections, additions and directions to the printer; ii, note on f. 49 of vol. 1 made after 1580; iii, pencilled notes in English in vol. 2 with the book numbers, probably made by a bookseller. Contents: [Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés] Historia general y natural de las Indias. Books IV, VII, IX, XI, XXXII, and XXXVII]: [f. 11, Prologue:] Pues que es ya tiempo se de conclusion A las cosas de la governacion ... [f. 11v, Text:] Capitulo primero ... Dixosse en el libro procedente ...Y esto baste quanto a este breve libro del numero xxxvi hasta que el tiempo nos avise de otras cosas que en el se acresçienten.
mssHM 177