"Twelve Months of Flowers"
Special Collection No. 111
Box 1 of 1

This collection consists of 13 plates (12 images and 1 text) of reprints done by the Pierpont Morgan Library of a 1730 set of prints done by Robert Furber, a Kensington nurseryman. They were done as a florilegium, or nurseryman's catalogue, a format developed in Germany in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. No prices were present and the catalogues were meant for wealthy landowners who would be interested in growing plants simply for their beauty. Furber produced two such catalogues in 1730 - one of flowers and one of fruits. The catalogue was sold by subscription and we know that Furber managed to obtain about 450 subscriptions. There are 30 flowers per plate, all arranged in decorative urns featuring mythological figures and ancient patterns. The plate engravings were done by Henry Fletcher, a specialist in this type of work. The works became popular not just as a guide to gardening, but, because they were so beautiful, also as wall art.

Little else is known of Furber - though he did publish two volumes on gardening, the first a catalogue of trees, and the second a how-to guide for beginning gardeners. The set of Flower prints donated to the Lloyd are reproductions made by the Pierpont Morgan Library, which holds a set of the original plates.

Click on a thumbnail to view a larger image of the print.