Elizabeth Blackwell - 1739 First Edition - Venetian Orobus

$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 208, Venetian Orobus. The true Orobus (Orobus Venetus & Orobus)Orobus is an old genus of Fabaceae family. The FabaceaeLeguminosae or Papilionaceae, commonly known as the legumepea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. It includes treesshrubs, and perennial or annual herbaceous plants, which are easily recognized by their fruit (legume) and their compound, stipulated leaves. The group is widely distributed and is the third-largest land plant family in terms of number of species, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with about 751 genera and some 19,500 known species. About 18,000 legume species are known, amounting to about 7% of flowering plant species. Fabaceae is the most common family found in tropical rainforests and in dry forests in the Americas and Africa.

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 12 x 7 5/8 inches.

Shipped Unmatted

  • Inventory# B-613