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William Curtis began publication of the Botanical Magazine in February 1787 and it continued almost without interruption for 160 years. The images were engraved and hand-coloured by many artists including Sydenham Edwards, William Graves, James Sowerby, John Curtis, William Jackson Hooker, W.H. Fitch, Matilda Smith, Lillian Snelling and Stella Rose Craig. The plates are known for their fine detail and delicate hand coloring. The prints are all copper engravings to Volume 70, then continue with stone or zinc lithography until the introduction of color printing in 1948. It is the longest-running botanical magazine and was entirely hand colored until 1948. Even now, after all this time of living with Curtis prints, we are still left in awe by their beauty. Each single measures approximately 5 1/2 inches wide by 9 inches long. Prints are accompanied by the relevant original descriptive text.
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