Asparagus / Asparagus officinalis / Sparrow grass – botanical print by Elizabeth Blackwell, A Curious Herbal, 1737

Description

Asparagus / Asparagus officinalis / Sparrow grass – an antique engraved and hand-coloured print by Elizabeth Blackwell from 1737 edition of her famous work “A Curious Herbal”.

Elizabeth Blackwell (1707–1758) was a Scottish botanical illustrator and author who was best known as both the artist and engraver for the plates of “A Curious Herbal”, published between 1737 and 1739. The book was designed as a reference work on medicinal plants for the use of physicians and apothecaries. Elizabeth Blachrie was the daughter of a successful Scottish merchant and was trained as an artist. She secretly married her cousin, Alexander Blackwell (1709–47), a Scottish doctor. Soon the young couple had to relocate to London, where he set up a printing house. Not belonging to a guild Alexander was charged with flouting the trade rules and heavily fined, and subsequently went to a prison as a debtor. Elizabeth had a child and was destitute. In this desperate situation she has learned that a new herbal was needed to be illustrated. She would take the completed drawings to her husband’s cell where he supplied the correct names Latin and other languages. In addition to the drawings, Blackwell engraved the copper printing plates for the 500 images and text, and hand-coloured the printed illustrations. A Curious Herbal was a success because of the meticulous quality of the illustrations. Physicians and apothecaries acclaimed the work, and it received a commendation from the Royal College of Physicians. Revenue from the book led to Alexander’s release from prison. It wasn’t the end of troubles for Blackwell however as Alexander was soon arrested and executed in Sweden, where he went to start a new life. Little is known of Blackwell’s later years.

This poster is a high quality “giclee” reproduction of a painstakingly restored antique original, custom-printed on Standard Single-weight Matt Coated art paper 140gsm or  Heavyweight Matt Coated art paper 230gsm (more of a thin card density), or superb Epson Matt Canvas 320gsm, according to your choice. We use the latest UltraChromeHDX pigment inks which guarantee 60 years of colour  permanence (up to 200 years fade-proof for colour prints).  This poster is suitable for mounting and framing, as well as direct display on a wall.

IMPORTANT: If you are going to frame this print we thoroughly recommend art paper 230gsm or canvas 320gsm. The 140gsm art paper option makes sense if you wish to DIY-frame or to tack the poster to a wall without framing, due to it being lighter and more flexible. All three options are giclee prints of the same high quality.

POSTER PRINT QUALITY

Please note that our reproduction posters are made to order and every print is checked before posting. The images we use in most cases are scans of antique originals, professionally restored in order to remove the most evident stains, folds, tears and other damage. We strive to balance the restoration and saving the overall integrity and antique appearance of the original. Our restored images are unique and these prints can be purchased only from www.VictorianMaps.com.

There will be no watermark on your image but there might be a white border depending on aspect ratio of the original. Please note that when a large antique original is reduced to a smaller size print some text may not be readable. Please check our measurements: every poster has its own aspect ratio same as original and printed exactly as pictured.