Curtis's Botanical Magazine
ISSN 1355-4905 | |
The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1787.[1] The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name Curtis's Botanical Magazine.
Each of the issues contains a description, in formal yet accessible language, and is renowned for featuring the work of two centuries of
History and profile
The first issue, published on 1 February 1787,
The first volume's illustrations were mostly by Sydenham Edwards. A dispute with the editors saw his departure to start the rival The Botanical Register. The credit for the first plate (Iris persica) goes to James Sowerby, as did a dozen of Edwards contributions. The first thirty volumes used copper engraving to provide the plates, the hand colouring of these was performed by up to thirty people. An issue might have a circulation of 3000 copies, with 3 plates in each. As costs of production rose, and demand increased, results would be variable within a run. The later use of machine colouring would provide uniformity to the artists work, although the process could not give the same detail for many years. The magazine has been considered to be the premier journal for early botanical illustration.
When Curtis died, having completed 13 volumes (1787–1800), his friend John Sims became editor between 1801 and 1807 (Volumes 15–26) and changed the name. William Hooker was the editor from 1826, bringing to it his experience as a botanist, and as author of the rival magazine, Exotic Botany. W. J. Hooker brought the artist Walter Hood Fitch to the magazine, this artist became the magazines principal artist for forty years.
Like Thiselton-Dyer, Smith was brought to the magazine by Hooker, who was her cousin. Between 1878 and 1923 Smith drew over 2,300 plates for Curtis's. Her exceptional contribution was to see her become the first botanic artist of Kew, and she was later made an associate of the
The magazine is the greatest serial of botanical illustration yet produced, the consistent quality of the journal's plates and authority make this the most widely cited work of its kind. Other 19th century artists who contributed largely to the magazine include Augusta Innes Withers and Anne Henslow Barnard, Joseph Dalton Hooker's sister-in-law, who was active in the period 1879–1894.[6] The hand-coloured plates were a labor-intensive process, but this tradition was continued by another principal illustrator, Lilian Snelling (1879–1972), from 1921 until 1948[7] A photomechanical process was implemented after this time. In 1921, Lilian Snelling, took over as chief illustrator on the magazine, a position she held until 1952, producing over 830 paintings and plates during her tenure[8] From 1929, she was assisted by Stella Ross-Craig, a talented illustrator and botanist who remained at Kew until the 1960s, contributing 3000 illustrations to many publications including Curtis's.[9]
It has been published continuously ever since, with a change of name to The Kew Magazine from 1984 to 1994. In 1995 the name reverted to that of the widely cited, Curtis's Botanical Magazine. It continues to be published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew as a publication for those interested in horticulture, ecology or botanical illustration.
The standard form of abbreviation is Curtis's Bot. Mag. or Botanical Magazine in the citation of botanical literature.
See also
References
- ^ "Review of Curtis's ' Botanical Magazine.' Series 1–3. Vols. 1–123. London, 1787–1897". The Quarterly Journal. 188: 49–65. July 1898.
- ^ "Curtis's Botanical Magazine". University of Glasgow. October 2004. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ "Early New Zealand Botanical Art: Matilda Smith (1854-1926)". University of Wellington website. Accessed 2015-08-17.
- ^ Hemsley, W. Botting. "The History of the Botanical Magazine 1787–1904". In Index to the Botanical Magazine. London: Lovell Reeve & Co., 1906, pp. v–lxiii.
- ISBN 1-55670-497-6
- ^ Desmond, Ray, ed. Dictionary of British and Irish Botantists and Horticulturalists. CRC Press, 1994.
- ^ Catherine Horwood Gardening Women: Their Stories From 1600 to the Present, p. 170, at Google Books
- ^ Miss Lilian Snelling, Obituary, The Times, London, 17 October 1972 pg. 16, Issue 58607
- ^ Ward, Marilyn and Rix, Martyn, Curtis's Botanical Magazine, vol. 23, 2006, pp. 256–258
Bibliography
- Martyn Rix (ed.). "Curtis's Botanical Magazine". Scientific Publications: Journals. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
Each four-part volume contains 24 plant portraits reproduced from watercolour originals
- Hugh Cahill (10 May 2006). "Case 3: William Curtis and The Botanical Magazine". Nature observed: The work of the botanical artist. King's College London. Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
- "Curtis's Botanical Magazine. Kew". IPNI. 2 July 2003. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
Id: 18697-2
- Julie Gardham (October 2004). "Curtis's Botanical Magazine". Special Collections Department: Book of the Month. Glasgow University Library. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
it is the oldest periodical in existence featuring coloured plates, of which more than 11,000 have now been produced.
External links
- Official website
- Journal page at Wiley-Blackwell website
- Issues 1984– vol. 1, Ne
- The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 1. Project Gutenberg. 2005-12-02.; Vol. 2; Vol. 3; Vol. 4; Vol. 5; Vol. 6;
- DJVU scans of the First 20 issues. University of Georgia. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01.
- Curtis Botanical Images Digital Collection. Iowa Digital Library, University of Iowa
- Curtis's Botanical Magazine at the Biodiversity Heritage Library vols. 15 (1801) – 103 (1877)
- Curtis Botanical Images of Carnivorous Plants from the John Innes Centre Historical Collection Archived 2018-04-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Glasgow University Library
- Curtis's Botanical Magazine at HathiTrust Digital
- Curtis's Botanical Magazine at Wiley Online Library
- Curtis's Botanical Magazine at Botanical Scientific Journals