Botanical Illustration Plates on the Internet Archive
Botanical illustration was once both art and science: the primary method of documenting plant species before photography. The best botanical illustrators combined scientific precision with artistic beauty, producing plates that are as aesthetically stunning as they are taxonomically accurate.
The Internet Archive hosts high-resolution scans of botanical plate collections from major European and American publishers, spanning centuries of exploration and classification. Many feature hand-colored engravings that were produced in limited editions for wealthy collectors and institutional subscribers.
These illustrations continue to influence contemporary design: their color palettes, compositions, and attention to natural form appear in everything from textile patterns to wedding invitations. They are also valuable scientific records, documenting species as they appeared before habitat loss and climate change altered ecosystems.
From the Archive
Showing 6 of 15
New illustration of the sexual system of Carolus von Linnaeus : comprehending an elucidation of the several parts of the fructification ; a prize dissertation on the sexes of plants, a full explanation of the classes, and orders, of the sexual system ; and the temple of flora, or garden of nature, being picturesque, botanical, coloured plates, of select plants, illustrative of the same, with descriptions
statement of responsibility: by Robert John Thornton Half titles preceding the t.p.: [1]. A British trophy in honour of Linnaeus. [2]. A new illustration of the sexual system of Linnaeus. [3]. The sex
New illustration of the sexual system of Carolus von Linnaeus : comprehending an elucidation of the several parts of the fructification ; a prize dissertation on the sexes of plants, a full explanation of the classes, and orders, of the sexual system ; and the temple of flora, or garden of nature, being picturesque, botanical, coloured plates, of select plants, illustrative of the same, with descriptions
statement of responsibility: by Robert John Thornton Half titles preceding the t.p.: [1]. A British trophy in honour of Linnaeus. [2]. A new illustration of the sexual system of Linnaeus. [3]. The sex
New illustration of the sexual system of Carolus von Linnaeus : comprehending an elucidation of the several parts of the fructification : a prize dissertation on the sexes of plants : a full explanation of the classes, and orders, of the sexual system : and The temple of flora, or, Garden of nature, being picturesque, botanical, coloured plates, of select plants, illustrative of the same, with descriptions [motto: 4 lines]
[3], [10], [22], [11], [2] leaves, [105] leaves of plates : 59 cm. (fol.) Imprint, publication date, and title taken from 1807 title page bound in towards end of volume The work was published in parts
[Plantes du Roi]
Robert, Nicolas (1614-1684); Bosse, Abraham (1602-1676); Chatillon, Louis De (1639-1734) [Plantes du Roi] [Paris, 1685-1701] Two volumes with 327 engraved plates, each volume with manuscript title-pag
[Plantes du Roi]
Robert, Nicolas (1614-1684); Bosse, Abraham (1602-1676); Chatillon, Louis De (1639-1734) [Plantes du Roi] [Paris, 1685-1701] Two volumes with 327 engraved plates, each volume with manuscript title-pag
[Watercolors of flowers and butterflies]
[xviii], 14 pages, [14] leaves of plates : 24 cm Title from typed/penciled title on acid-free strips "The paintings show flowers, some native to England but many from South Africa and the Americas. Th