Mark Catesby’s Magnolia, 1754
The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, Vol. II, Plate 61
Exceptionally rare over-sized sheet presentation with margins. This particular impressions was printed horizontally and bound as a full spread into Volume II similar to the Catesby Map.
Widely regarded as the most striking image from Volume II of Catesby’s Natural History, this 1754 engraving of the Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) captures the grandeur and botanical elegance of the species with exceptional clarity and detail.
The composition is based on a celebrated painting by the eminent botanical artist Georg Dionysius Ehret, whose signature is discreetly engraved into the leaf at the lower left. Printed on fine laid chain paper, this plate features rich original hand-color, deep impressions, and generous margins – hallmarks of an excellent early impression. The original descriptive text leaf, featuring an ornate historiated drop cap unique to the 1731 and 1754 editions, accompanies the print.
About The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands
The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands – Catesby’s most notable folio – visually documents the flora and fauna of colonial America through hand-colored engravings. Mark Catesby, an English artist-naturalist, set out on an expedition of discovery to learn about the uncharted animalia of the Americas. As a self-taught artist, Catesby takes a unique approach to rendering the natural world. His prints are charming, possessing a medieval quality and subjective approach to understanding nature. The Natural History and Appendix (1731, 1754, and 1771 editions) contain 220 prints that substantiate the earliest illuminated folios on American birds.
About Mark Catesby
Mark Catesby was an English self-taught artist and explorer who created one of the first folios examining the flora and fauna of North America. Born in 1682, Catesby traveled to the New World on a legendary discovery expedition a century before the renowned artist-naturalist John James Audubon first published his work, The Birds of America. His exploration of the southern British colonies resulted in the publication of his illustrated folio, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. Catesby also contributed to the research of renowned taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus (1707—1778), who included over 70 of Catesby’s bird illustrations in his landmark work, Systema Naturae.
For more information about Catesby 1754, Vol. 2 Pl. 61, Magnolia, email us at [email protected] or check out our articles Spontaneous Surrealism in Mark Catesby’s Artwork and Catesby’s Crustaceans – Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands.
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