Elizabeth Blackwell - 1739 First Edition - Clove

$125.00

An exceptionally fine engraving with original hand-coloring from the first edition of A CURIOUS HERBAL - drawn, engraved and painted by Elizabeth Blackwell.  Published in London, c. 1739.

This is Plate 338, The Clove (Caryophyllus aromaticus). Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family MyrtaceaeSyzygium aromaticum. They are native to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice. Cloves are commercially harvested primarily in Bangladesh, Indonesia, IndiaMadagascarZanzibarPakistanSri Lanka, and Tanzania. Cloves are available throughout the year.

These 18th century herbals are from one of the first English botanical series to be issued with hand-colored plates. Published by Elizabeth Blackwell to free her physician husband from debtor’s prison.  Due to the great success and popularity of this enterprise, her husband was indeed released (however he was later beheaded for his part in a political plot to alter the Swedish royal succession).

Plate size is approximately 11 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches.

Shipped Unmatted

  • Inventory# B-584