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The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden
Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1793. The longest
running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name
Curtis's Botanical Magazine.
Each of the issues contains a description,
in formal yet accessible language, and is renowned for featuring the work
of two centuries of botanical illustrators. Many plants received their first
publication on the pages, and the description given was enhanced by the keenly
detailed illustrations.
The first issue, in 1787, was begun by
William Curtis, as both an illustrated gardening and botanical journal. Curtis
was an apothecary and botanist who held a position at Kew Gardens, who had
published the highly praised (but poorly sold) Flora Londinensis a few years
before. The publication familiarized its readers with ornamental and exotic
plants, which it presented in octavo format. Artists who had previously given
over their flower paintings to an affluent audience, now saw their work published
in a format accessible by a wider one. The illustrations were initially
hand-coloured prints, taken from copper engravings and intended to complement
the text. Identification by a general reader was given in exploded details,
some of were given as a section. This was accompanied by a page or two of
text describing the plants properties, history, growth characteristics, and
some common names for the species.
The first volume's illustrations were mostly
by Sydenham Edwards, a dispute with the editors saw his departure to start
the rival The Botanical Register. The credit for the first plate (Iris persica)
goes to James Sowerby, as did a dozen of Edwards contributions. The first
thirty volumes used copper engraving to provide the plates, the hand colouring
of these was performed by up to thirty people. An issue might have a circulation
of 3000 copies, with 3 plates in each. As costs of production rose, and demand
increased, results would be variable within a run. The later use of machine
colouring would provide uniformity to the artists work, although the process
could not give the same detail for many years. The magazine has been considered
to be the premier journal for early botanical
illustration.
When Curtis died, having completed 13 volumes
(1787-1800), his friend John Sims became editor between 1801 and 1807 (Volumes
15–26) and changed the name. William Hooker was the editor from 1826,
bringing to it his experience as a botanist, and as author of the rival magazine,
Exotic Botany. W. J. Hooker brought the artist Walter Hood Fitch to the magazine,
this artist became the magazines principal artist for forty years. Joseph
Dalton Hooker followed his father, becoming the Director of Kew Gardens in
1865, and editor of its magazine.
The next principal artist, Matilda Smith,
was brought to the magazine by the younger Hooker. Smith's talent was discovered
by Hooker, her cousin, and between 1878 and 1923 Smith drew over 2,300 plates
for Curtis's. Her exceptional contribution was to see her become the fist
botanic artist of Kew, and she was later made an associate of the Linnean
Society - the second woman to have achieved this. The scientific value of
the figures and illustration, a source of pride and notability for the magazine,
required the careful training of the illustrators. The artist worked closely
with the botanist to depict a specimen, the use of exploded details surrounding
the depiction gave the volumes practical appeal to botanists, horticulturalists,
and gardeners.
The magazine is the greatest serial of
botanical illustration yet produced, the consistent quality of the journal's
plates and authority make this the most widely cited work of its
kind. |
