''The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland'' was a book published in 1855 that featured 51 plates of
nature printing Nature printing is a printing process, developed in the 18th century, that uses the plants, animals, rocks and other natural subjects to produce an image. The subject undergoes several stages to give a direct impression onto materials such as lead, ...
by
Henry Bradbury.
Description
The text was a scientific description of all the varieties of
Ferns found in the
British Isles. The author of this work was the botanist
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...
, the editor was
John Lindley
John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.
Early years
Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...
.
The book was released at a time of so-called "
pteridomania
Pteridomania or fern fever was a Victorian craze for ferns. Decorative arts of the period presented the fern motif in pottery, glass, metal, textiles, wood, printed paper, and sculpture, with ferns "appearing on everything from christening ...
" in Britain.
Along with William Grosart Johnstone and Alexander Croall's ''Nature-Printed British Sea-Weeds'' (London, 1859–1860), the book featured Bradbury's innovative nature printing process. The publisher of the work was Bradbury and Evans. Bradbury patented the process after seeing the invention of
Alois Auer - though the identity of its inventor grew to be a subject of debate.
The technique was briefly in vogue, but did not persist in printing. Bradbury, along with Auer, believed the technique to be an enormous advance in printing. However, the plants and other subjects that could be successfully printed in this way were few. Ferns were one of the few plants with a form that could be replicated, the shape of the fronds being largely two-dimensional.
In this work the ferns, a plant highly suited to the process, were impressed upon soft lead plates. These were electroplated to become the printing plate, the details of the fronds and stem were hand-coloured at this stage. The resulting image was in two colours and provided a highly detailed and realistic depiction of the species.
See also
*
Pteridomania
Pteridomania or fern fever was a Victorian craze for ferns. Decorative arts of the period presented the fern motif in pottery, glass, metal, textiles, wood, printed paper, and sculpture, with ferns "appearing on everything from christening ...
References
*
See also
*
List of Irish botanical illustrators
This is a list of botanical illustrators born or active in Ireland.
Botanical illustration involves the painting, drawing and illustration of plants and ecosystems. Often meticulously observed, the botanical art tradition combines both science a ...
*
List of Irish plant collectors
External links
Botanicus: "The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland"— ''online edition''.
Florae (publication)
.
Flora of Great Britain
Flora of Ireland
Botany in Europe
Botanical art
British books
1855 books
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