Background:

These antique botanical prints appeared in Conrad Loddiges' The Botanical Cabinet published in 20 parts from 1817 to 1833.  The prints portray "plants from all countries" cultivated in the Loddiges nursery at Hackney, London.  Many illustrations were done by members of the Loddiges family, with the engravings by George Cooke.

It is interesting to note that two versions of The Botanical Cabinet were published - one in which the engraved botanical prints were fully  hand-colored and another featuring partial coloring.  The prints shown on this page are from the later edition.  These unique botanicals show how the print looked after the initial impression from the engraving plate and demonstrate the skill of the artists who did the intricate hand-coloring.  Remember that the artists worked either from natural light or gaslight.

Why were two editions produced?  It is possible the edition featuring partial hand-coloring was published for those who could not afford the cost of the edition with full coloring, or as a reference for the professional botanist for plant identification.

Please note - The background color on some prints may appear darker than others shown on this page.  This is due to how our scanner captured the print image.  The actual prints in this series all have similar background coloring.