This extraordinary collection of engravings provides designers and commercial artists with a magnificent sourcebook of Victorian-era plant images — all royalty-free. Included are 2,400 crisply detailed illustrations of hundreds of plants — from lilies, lichens, mushrooms and marigolds, to poppies, palms, maples, and mosses.

Selected from rare publications dating from the 1840s to the turn of the century, the illustrations encompass a wide range of plant species and classifications: garden flowers, cactuses, bromeliads, ferns, deciduous trees, evergreens, grasses, legumes, orchids, nightshades, and many more. All are identified with Latin or common names and are arranged alphabetically by family. Also presented are specialized appendices on edible foods, medicinal herbs, and plants used in decoration and in graphic design, including borders and motifs.

Created during a period when wood engraving had reached its zenith and become a greatly refined art, these splendid royalty-free illustrations will be an indispensable and inspirational resource for artists and craftspeople working in a variety of areas. The collection will also delight botanists, gardeners, and collectors of old engravings, all of whom are sure to treasure this tribute to the beauty and infinite variety of the plant kingdom.