Orchid Gallery

Calanthe versicolor, 1838

Watercolour on paper. Original drawing for plate XLII in John Lindley's Sertum orchidaceum: a wreath of the most beautiful orchidaceous flowers; selected by John Lindley, published in 1838. Illustration shows part monochromatic, part colour study of leaves and flowers. Side figure represents lip and ovary with the sepals and petals cut away. Inscribed in pencil by Miss Drake along top edge, The upper bracts slightly hairy, sweet scented, and Sion Gardens Aug. 31 18..'[date has been cropped]. There is a semi-circular blob of red paint or possibly sealing wax on the top edge of drawing. Also inscribed in a different hand Rec'd. 15.9.1925 lower right corner. Drawing taken from flower held in the collection of His Grace the Duke of Northumberland at Sion. According to Lindley's publication It is a native of the East Indies, whence it has also been sent from the Botanic Garden, Calcutta, to the Horticultural Society

© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Cattleya superba, 1838

Watercolour on paper. Original drawing for plate XXII in John Lindley's Sertum orchidaceum: a wreath of the most beautiful orchidaceous flowers; selected by John Lindley, published in 1838. Illustration shows study in sepia of leaves, flowers and roots. Also small drawing lower right in grey tones detailing the lip of the flower. Drawing inscribed on lower left corner Rec'd Sept.15, 1925 in unknown hand. Paper has discoloured across lower edge. Paper is watermarked Smith & Allnut 1834

© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Stenoglottis fimbriata, 1870

Hand-coloured lithograph on paper by Walter Hood Fitch, 1870. Artwork from Curtis's Botanical Magazine, volume 96, plate 5872.
Curtis's Botanical Magazine is the longest running botanical periodical featuring colour illustrations of plants and has been published continuously since 1787

© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

1787, 1800s, 1870, 1870s, 19th Century, 5872, Art, Biology, Botanical, Botanical Illustration, Botanical Magazine, Botanicals, Botany, Curtis, Curtis S, Fitch, Flower, Flowerhead, Flowering, Hand Coloured, Illustration, Kew, Kew Gardens, Late 19th Century, Lilac, Lilac Flower, Lithograph On Paper, Orchid, Orchidaceae, Orchids, Pink, Pink Flower, Plant, Plant Portrait, Plant Structure, Plate 5872, Speckled, Stenoglottis, T, T 5872, V, Vertical, Vol 96, Volume 96, W, Walter Hood Fitch