John Edwards (1742 – 31 August 1815Lot 18: John Edwards (1742-1815) - Featured on Artfact.com
) was an English botanist, painter, designer and illustrator, noted for his serial publication, ''The British Herbal''. After living in London until about 1778, he moved to

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and exhibited with the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

and the Society of Artists, of which he was a member. Edward also produced textile designs, especially for calico. He published ''The British Herbal Containing One Hundred Plates of The most beautiful and scarce Flowers and Useful Medicinal Plants'' in monthly parts between 1769 and 1770, covering exotic and British flowers, using text gathered from various sources, and his own hand-coloured engraved plates. ''A Collection of Flowers Drawn after Nature & Disposed in an Ornamental & Picturesque Manner'', was his next publishing venture. The imprint dates of the plates show that he had started the project in 1783, completing 79 plates through the 1780s and 1790s. Edwards designed, etched and coloured all the plates himself, thus having complete control of the operation. Edwards died in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

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English botanists 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters English designers 1742 births 1815 deaths 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists {{England-painter-stub