A Selection of Hexadrian Plants – Antique Originals

Priscilla Susan Bury’s A Selection of Hexadrian Plants depicts flowers with six stamens including amaryllis, crinums, pancratiums, and lilies. The unique parameters of her folio – that the flowers depicted have six stamen – were inspired by the Linnean system of classification which categorized plants based on their reproductive characteristics (i.e. stamen and pistils). Bury’s flower “portraits” depict the species against a sparse background so that sole focus can be lent to the flower without distraction. Her folio contains 51 aquatint engravings produced from 1831 to 1834 by renowned London engraver, Robert Havell, Jr.. These rich aquatint engravings are partly printed in color and partly hand-colored. Also the publisher of this work, Robert Havell produced Bury’s folio at the same time that he was engraving renowned artist-naturalist John James Audubon’s plates for The Birds of America. In fact, John James Audubon was listed among the subscribers to Bury’s splendid 19th-century botanical folio.