The Temple of Flora Boxed Notecards

Robert Thornton (English, 1768–1837), physician and medical botanist, created The Temple of Flora as a tribute to the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus. The collection of 31 color plates, published between 1799 and 1807, is considered by many as one of the most beautiful botanical books ever produced, despite its scientific inaccuracies. At great expense, Thornton commissioned artists to create flowers against classical landscape backgrounds using aquatint, mezzotint, stipple engraving, and line engraving. The images were then printed in color and finished by hand. After production costs left him nearly bankrupt, Thornton held a lottery in 1811, offering original paintings used for the plates as first prize. The plates he printed for additional prizes were known as the "lottery edition." The lottery proved unsuccessful, leaving Thornton to die in poverty.

Contains five each of the following notecards:

The Sacred Egyptian Bean, engraved by Burke and Lewis after a painting by Peter Henderson; vol. 2, plate XXX, from The Temple of Flora (London, 1804) A Group of Carnations, engraved by Caldwell after a painting by Peter Henderson; vol. 2, plate VIII, from The Temple of Flora (London, 1803) Tulips, engraved by Richard Earlom after a painting by Philip Reinagle; vol. 2, plate X, from The Temple of Flora (London, 1798) The Nodding Renealmia, engraved by Caldwell after a painting by Peter Henderson; vol. 2, plate XIII, from The Temple of Flora (London, 1801)

Published with the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.