Early Purple Orchis, Antique British Orchid Plate by Anne Pratt, circa 1873
€ 185
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1873
Mapmaker / artist
Anne Pratt
Publisher
Frederick Warne and Co., Bedford Street, Covent Garden, London
Technique
Chromolithograph
Coloring
Printed color
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14401-26
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Even age toning. Handling soiling along the edges, strongest at the right. Foxing spots in the top margin and a faint ring stain in the right margin. Small nicks along the top and bottom right edges. Slight corner wear.
About this sheet
This is an original antique botanical plate, Plate 214 from Volume V of Anne Pratt's The Flowering Plants, Grasses, Sedges, and Ferns of Great Britain, circa 1873, showing four British orchises. The caption names Green Winged Meadow Orchis (Orchis morio), Early Purple Orchis (O. mascula), Dwarf Dark Winged Orchis (O. ustulata) and Great Brown Winged Orchis (O. fusca).
Four flower spikes stand side by side. The green winged meadow orchis at the left carries pale pink flowers with spotted lips. The great brown winged orchis rises at the center, its flowers with dark olive brown hoods over pink spotted lips. Beside it the small spike of the dwarf dark winged orchis shows dark buds at the top and white flowers spotted with purple below. The early purple orchis at the right is a full spike of pink flowers with yellow throats. A broad leaf marked with dark spots stands behind the center, other green leaves fill the base, and brown tubers with their roots are drawn at the lower left and lower right.
The plate comes from The Flowering Plants, Grasses, Sedges, and Ferns of Great Britain, the six volume flora for which Anne Pratt (1806 to 1893) wrote the text and drew the plants. It was published in London by Frederick Warne and Co., Bedford Street, Covent Garden, for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, circa 1873, with Scribner, Welford and Armstrong as the New York house. This sheet belongs to Volume V, whose title page records 237 species in color. The plates were printed in color by William Dickes of London, a licensee of George Baxter's color process.
Even age toning. Handling soiling along the edges, strongest at the right. Foxing spots in the top margin and a faint ring stain in the right margin. Small nicks along the top and bottom right edges. Slight corner wear.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
