To see some of our specialist collections, please click the links below

Dr Robert Thornton-Flowers            Benjamin Wilkes-Flowers & Butterflies

Pierre-Joseph Redoute-Roses

This page represents most of our collection of original Antique prints of Flowers, Plants and Trees grouped by date. Please click on an image to see it in high-resolution, with details of the work itself.  For enquiries and purchases, please do contact us.

16th, 17th and 18th century

Persian Iris, iris persica and Wild Arrach, astriplex hatata with a Sword grass Moth, phalaena lucae.

Maple Branch with red flowers (Erable) and American Potato bean (Apios).

With Water Tupelo (Nyssa aquatica) branch.

Trillium Erectum (Solanium) and Solidago (Grande de Consolide).

Chelone (Turtlehead plant): With detail of flower and key in Latin. Title heightened in gold.

Sophora (Sun King): With detail of the flower and key in Latin. Title heightened in gold.

Pelargonium: Scarlet Geranium: Geranium inquinans.

Kniphofia: Red Hot Poker. Aletris uvaria

Mullein: Great Mullein. Verbascum Thapsus

Ranunculus, Black Thorn, Columbine, White bells and a Spotted red and white underwing Moth.

The Superb Lily, also known as the Turk’s Cap, set in a romanticised mountainous landscape alluding to its North American origins.

Palm: Date Palm Phoenix dactylifera: Men harvesting the fruit. With text in French.

Cocunut Tree and Cocos: With Orange (Tranja), Carandas Plum and Star fruit (Carambolus) trees and fruit.

African Thistle Protea: Silver horned and Leathery. Scolymocephalus Africanus argenteus foliis Dorycam, Scolymocephalus Africanus folio crasso nervso.

Anthoxanthum adoratum with segment showing the petals, calyx and seed.

Flowering Sensitive Plant: Set within an Indian landscape with hummingbirds and an admirer in the foreground.

Summer savory with flower, calix and seed.

Damask Rose: Large Flowered Damask Rose (Rosa Damascena grandiflora).

Marigold: Glittering Fig Marigold. Mesembryanthemum micans

Mangrove Tree and Thistle Protea: Scolymocephalus seu conocarpoden dron folio angusto, Scolymocephals foliis subrotundis glabris.

Scordium (Germander): Scorodomia seu salvia agrestis, scorzonera crcisi, humilior angustifolia, floribus luteis altera, folis nervosis.

Verbascum (Mullein): With detail of the flower and key in Latin. Title heightened in gold.

Miirabilis: Marvel of Peru. Mirabilis Jalappa

Sweet Briar Rose, rosa englanteria and Wild Rose Moth, phalaena lacertenaria.

Roses: 1 Common Damask Rose (Rosa Damascena Communis) and 2 Striped Ribbandrose (Rosa versicolor)

Ledum (Kalmia): Two flowering branches with detail of flower and key in Latin. Title heightened in gold.

Cowslip: Common Cowslip. Primula ver

Fern from Plaisance Bay and American Cypress branch.

Petiveria (Pigeonberry): With detail of the flower and key in Latin. Title heightened in gold.

American Panax (Ginseng) and Soloman’s Seal (Polygonatume).

Caryphyllius pleno, 3 variations and Caryphyllius dimidia

Flowering Plants: Two varieties from New Guinea and eight from Australia (New Holland)

African Thistle Protea: Wide and Round. Scolymocephalus Africanus folio lato rotundo.

Flowering Plants: Four varieties from Australia (New Holland) and four from Brazil.

Flos Cardinalis.

Aloe: Agave or American Aloe. Aloes are natives of the Old World whilst agaves are from the New. Thornton subsequently corrected his mistake.

Tsi Shu (Japanese Varnish) Tree, Betel Vine, and Chinese cabbage (Fuling): With Tea and Rhubarb.

Lycium (Boxthorn): With detail of flower and key in Latin. Title heightened in gold.

Cotton plants: Two types, Jack-fruit and Li Chi.

Plantago (Fleawort): Plantago latifolia rosea, quinquenervia major and minor, angustifolia alpina, polium montanum, and poium montanum lavendula.

Primula Acaulis: Double Lilac Primrose.

La Triomphe, Louis XVI, Duchess of Devonshire, General Washington, Earl Spencer, La Majestieuse and Gloria Mundi.

Lysimachia Bulbifera: Bulb-Bearing Loosestrife.

Tulip Tree and Thistle Sugarbush: Scolymocephalus folis longis seu Tulipifer latifolius, Scolymocephalus foliis angustis longis.

Justicia Peruviana.

Alcea Rosea: Hollyhock.

19th Century 1800-1840

Golden Shot Wallflower. Erysimum Perofskianum.

Dalmatian Toadflax. By Miss Drake.

Pineapple House (Pinery). 1. Ground plan 2. longitudinal section with young plants 3. transverse section 4. mason work 5. carron register 6. transverse section of

Musk mallow. By Miss Drake.

Tulips: La Triomphe, Louis XVI, Duchess of Devonshire, General Washington, Earl Spencer, La Majestieuse, and Gloria Mundi, all set in a romanticised Dutch landscape complete with windmill.

Black Helleborre or Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger)

Bay Laurel or Common Bay Tree (Laurus Nobilis)

The Nodding Remealmia native to China & Japan. With delicate drops of dew falling from its petals.

Bush Rose. Rosa Vantenatiana.

Balsam: Flowering branch with fruit of the Rose coloured Balsam. Engraved by John Pass.

Crown Imperial Lily and Hollow-root Snapdragon: Fruitillaria imperialis and Fumaria cava.

Mammoth Bamboo in a woodland.

Helianthemum Tuberaria, Plantain-leaved Sun-Rose.

Rosenberg Rose. Rosa Rosenbergiana.

Branch of the tree. Engraved by John Pass.

Giant-flowered dendrobium. Dendrobium formosum.

Shewy aster: Aster spectabilis. By Sarah Anne Drake.

Roots: 1 Anemone tuberous root 2 Tulip bulbous tunicated root 3 Hyacinth root 4 Ranunculus fasciculated root and 5 fiberous root

Cinnamon tree (Laurus Cinnamomum)

Coffee: Branch of the Arabian coffee tree with fruit, blossoms and detail of the bean. By the engraver John Pass.

By Miss Drake.

Branch with fruit. Engraved by John Pass.

The Blue Passion Flower climbing a pillar. Native to Peru and Brazil, it was introduced to Europe in 1699 where it took to cooler climes.

Carnations: Flakes, Bizarres, and Piquettes. almer’s Defiance, Davy’s Defiance, Duchess of Dorset, Duchess of Wurtemberg, British Monarch, Prince of Wales. Set in a romanticised landscape with Norman ruins.

Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea Muscipula): After Paulo Majioli, and engraved by John Pass.

Iris: German, varicoloured and variegated Irises.

The Sacred Egyptian Bean (Lotus). Revered as the Sacred Lotus of the East, it no longer grows in Egypt.

Helianthemum formosum, Beautiful Sun-Rose.

Yellow Sulfur Rose. Rosa sulfura.

Snowdrop and Crocus: Galanthus nivalis and Crocus.

American Aloe or Agave set in a landscape.

Mammoth Aloe in the Hills.

The Nodding Remealmia. Native to China and Japan.

Common Cactus (Euphorbia Officinarum)

Gorse: Eulex Europæus.

The Quadrangular Passion Flower climbing a pillar. Widely cultivated in South America, its fruit the Granadilla, is a delicacy.

The Blue Passion Flower climbing a classical column.

Heather and Heaths: Erica cinerea, Erica vagan, Erica Irbyana, Erica Ampullacea, Erica Pilosa.

Cistus minspeliensis, Montpelier Rock-Rose.

Tulips: 1 Variegated Byblomen Tulip 2 Double Anemone.

Flora Dispensing Her Favours on the Earth. 1812

Cowslip and White Dittany: Dodecotheon Medea and Dictamnus albus.

Commeline and Little Bindweed: Commelina cœlestis and Convolvulus arvensis.

The Snowdrop with crocuses in a wintery English landscape.

Orchid: Papilionanthe teres. By J. Watts.

Carnations: 1 Variegated pink Picotee 2 Double Laced pink carnation 3 Petal of no2 and 4 empty calyx (pod).

Gardening: Winter repository for auriculas and carnations. 1 & 2 View of structure 3 a fern peg b bone ditto 4 notched stake 5 carnation pot c dressed shoot d layer pegged e wired stem 6 paper caps 7 brass wire 8 wire nippers 9 hyacinth shade 10 carnation piping 11 blossom card.

Common Poppy or Corn Rose (Papaver Rhoeas)

Bearberry (Arbutus Uva Ursi)

Indian Reed: Set in a romanticised landscape on the Ganges with a pagoda. This plate is usually found with additional spikes in hand colouring to ‘plump’ the flower.

Bengal Carnation Rose. Rosa Indica Caryophyllea.

Greenhouse, circular conservatory and common conservatory.

Queen Flower (Bird of Paradise). Set in a romanticized landscape. Native to South Africa, it was brought to the Royal Botanic Gardens in the 1780s.

Curious American Bog Plants. Fly Oprys, Venus Fly Trap, Bee Orphys, Yellow side-saddle, Tutsan-leaved Dog’s bone and Stinking pothos.

Chinese oak with its frutifications. Engraved by John Pass.

Caryophylleae: Dianthus. Six varieties.

The Superb Lily, also known as the Turk’s Cap, set in a romanticised North American landscape.

Cruciferae: Cheiranthus Cheiri L, Cheiri var and Carmeniacus. Matthiola varia, tristis R Br, Oxyceras DC, Lividia DC, and Leptaleus delest with details to their flowers.

Caryophylleae: Dianthus Bisignani Ten, Glaucus W, Segiveri Vill, Arboreus L and Capitattus Pall with parts of their flowers.

Queen Flower: Bird of Paradise in an African landscape.

Peach House. 1. Ground plan 2. transverse section of the underground works 3. upper section.

Virginian Tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum)

Four details of the husk, shell, and coconut fruit. Engraved by John Pass.

Dahlia: Purple and yellow Dahlias.

White Lily with yellow margined leaves and classical temple alluding to it being cherised by the Ancient Greeks and later the Romans.

Pentaphylloides floribunda.

Purple Foxglove (Digitalis Purpurea)

The Snowdro with yellow and purple crocuses set in a wintry English landscape.

Forcig Frame and Grapery. 1,2. angles of altitude and elevation of roof 3, 4 .Forcing Frames 5. grapery in Barnstaple 6. grapery back wall.

Norway Spruce Fir tree branch with cones. Engraved by John Pass.

Caryophylleae: Dianthus crenatus Sims, Chinensis L, Hirtus Vill, Leptopetalusd L, Arbuscula Lindl and Prolifer L.

Orchid: Two-edged laelia orchid, Laelia anceps. By Sarah Anne Drake.

Tankerville’s or China Limodorum set in a romanticised English landscape alluding to Lady Tankerville, a well known collector of exotic plants,

Royal Rose. Rosa Gallica Regalis.

Flora, Zephyrus, and their daughter Carpo examining the Night-Blooming Cereus.

Amaryllis Belladonna: Jersey Lily. By W.B. Booth.

Dahlia superflua rubra pleno: Double flowered Dahlia.

Helianthemum serpyllifolium, Serpyllum-leaved Sun-Rose.

Tulips: 1 Variegated Bizzard Tulip and 2 Variegated Rose Tulip.

Chrysanthemums: 1 Yellow quilled 2 Round headed purple and 3 Rose leaved pink.

Chinese Water Lily and Trailing Bell Flower: Nelumbium speciosum and Nolana prostrata.

Magnolia: Blooming branch of the laurel leaved Tulip tree. Engraved by John Pass.

Cruciferae: Stergima Sulvurem DC, Menonvillea linearis DC, Senebiera Serrata Poir, D. hispida DC, A elychrysifolium DC and Diplotaxis Scaposa DC with details of their flowers.

Bridge Rose. Rosa Gallica Pontiana

Stapelias Succulent: Dewy, Hirsute and Bell-shaped Stapelias with snakes and a lizard set in an African landscape with an erupting volcano.

Pomponia Rose. Rosa pomponia.

Wild Valerian (Valeriana Officinalis).

Training and Grafting. 1. One year pruned 2. Second year 3. Third year trained 4. Cleft Grafting 5. Mixed Grafting 6. Extreme grafting.

Blush Noisette Rose. Rosa Noisettiana

Gardening: Hyacinth Bed. 1 Plan 2 Frame a-c rollers and pullies, d board on supports with water reservoirs, 3-4 pullies, 5 transplanter, 6 hand glass 7, 8 watering pot and rose.

Common Almond (Amygdalus Communis).

19th Century 1840-1875 

Rhododendron Nuttali. Large White Rhododendron from Assam.

Date Palm ( Zamia Horrida): With traverse sections of Eastern Cape Blue Cycad (Zamia Horrida) and Sago Palm ( Cycas Revoluta).

Five varieties.

Sparaxis Tricolour. After Arentine H. Arendsen.

Segments of Chamaedorea lanccolata, Chamaedorea conocarpa and Morenia fragrens. d’Orbigny reached South America 5 years before his rival Charles Darwin, cataloguing over 10,000 species in 8 years.

Palms (Attalea). Martinezia truncata, Euterpe andicola and Euterpe Haenkeana with Guaranins hunting with bow and arrow.

Herbertia, Phalocallis and Vieusseuxia: 1 Herbertia pulchella, 2 Cypella herbertii, 3 Phalocallis plumbea, 4 Vieusseuxia pavonia, 5 Vieusseuxia villosa, 6 Vieusseuxia glaucopis and 7 Vieusseuxia bellendeni.

Dianthus heddewigh.

Palm Tree of the Great Andaman Islands.

Polyanthus Narcissus.

Passionflower: After Walter Hood Fitch.

Debrobium nobile and Thyrsacanthus Schomburgkianus. After Augusta Withers.

Scaly Rhododendron. Small purple flowers. After Walter Hood Fitch.

Juniperus Occidentalis.

1. Common purple Rudbeckle 2. Various leaved Echinacea 3 . Dickon’s Echinacea 4. Late flowering Purple Rudbeckle.

Segments of Bactris Brongniartii, Bactris faucium, Martinezia truncata and Diplothemium Toralli. d’Orbigny reached South America 5 years before his rival Charles Darwin, cataloguing over 10,000 species in 8 years.

Pompon Chrysanthemums: St. Justia, Miss Towers, Satanella and Queen of Beauties.

Hemiandra pungens, Gompholobium splendens and Grevillia elegans. After Augusta Withers.

After Walter Hood Fitch.

Lillium Chalcedonicum.

Segments of Astrocaryum Huaimi, Cocos Yatai, Cocos Australis and Cocos botryophora. d’Orbigny reached South America 5 years before his rival Charles Darwin, cataloguing over 10,000 species in 8 years.