This is a unique
opportunity to acquire a magnificent & rare original antique
Lithograph by one of the most famous Botanists of the
19th century, Joseph Dalton Hooker. This original
antique print, illustrated by the equally famous
botanical artist Walter Hood Fitch, of the Hodgsonia
or Lard Fruit plant - that grows from northern India to
SE Asia & Indonesia - was published as
part of Hookers 1855 publication of the
Illustrations of Himalayan plants.
Himalayan plants contains 24 coloured plates all
superbly engraved and hand coloured but this one of
the female Hodgsonia plant is one of the most impressive.
Hodgsonia or Lard Fruit -
Although the flesh of Hodgsonia fruit is inedible
and considered worthless, the large, oil-rich seeds are
an important source of food. The kernels are
occasionally eaten raw; they are slightly bitter,
possibly due to an unidentified alkaloid or glucoside,
but "perfectly safe" to eat. More commonly, the seeds
are roasted, after which they taste like pork scraps or
lard; many mountain peoples consider these roasted seeds
a delicacy. In addition to eating the seeds alone, the
Naga incorporate them into various types of curry.
Sir Joseph Dalton
Hooker (1817 – 1911) was one of the greatest British
botanists and explorers of the 19th century. Hooker was
one of the founders of geographical botany, and Charles
Darwin's closest friend. He was Director of the Royal
Botanical Gardens, Kew, for twenty years, in succession
to his father, William Jackson Hooker, and was awarded
the highest honours of British science.
On 11 November 1847 Hooker left England for his three
year long Himalayan expedition; he would be the first
European to collect plants in the Himalaya.
By his travels and his publications, Hooker built up a
high scientific reputation at home. In 1855 he was
appointed Assistant-Director of the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, and in 1865 he succeeded his father as
full Director, holding the post for twenty years. Under
the directorship of father and son Hooker, the Royal
Botanical gardens of Kew rose to world renown. At the
age of thirty, Hooker was elected a fellow of the Royal
Society, and in 1873 he was chosen its President (till
1877). He received three of its medals: the Royal Medal
in 1854, the Copley in 1887 and the Darwin Medal in
1892. He continued to intersperse work at Kew with
foreign exploration and collecting. His journeys to
Palestine, Morocco and the United States all produced
valuable information and specimens for Kew.
He started the series Flora Indica in 1855,
together with Thomas Thompson. Their botanical
observations and the publication of the Rhododendrons
of Sikkim-Himalaya (1849–51), formed the basis of
elaborate works on the rhododendrons of the Sikkim
Himalaya and on the flora of India. His works were
illustrated with lithographs by Walter Hood Fitch.
Walter Hood Fitch
(1817 - 1892) was a botanist and botanical artist. He
was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
Fitch was involved in fabric printing from the age of 17
and took to botanical art after being discovered by
William Jackson Hooker, the editor of Curtis's Botanical
Magazine. Hooker was a Professor of Botany at the
University of Glasgow, and a competent botanical artist
in his own right.
Fitch's important works are his illustrations for W. J.
Hooker's A Century of Orchidaceous Plants (1851), and
for James Bateman's A Monograph of Odontoglossum
(1864-74). He also created around 500 plates for
Hooker's Icones Plantarum (1836-76). Some of his most
notable work was for George Bentham and W.J. Hooker's
Handbook of the British Flora (1865). When Joseph Dalton
Hooker returned from his travels in India, Fitch
prepared lithographs from Hooker's sketches for his
Rhododendrons of Sikkim Himalaya (1849-51) and, from the
drawings of Indian artists, for his Illustrations of
Himalayan Plants (1855).
A dispute over pay with Joseph Dalton Hooker ended
Fitch's service to both the Botanical Magazine and Kew
although he was much sought after and remained active as
a botanical artist until 1888. Works during this period
included Henry John Elwes's Monograph of the Genus
Lilium (1877-80). (Ref:
M&B; Tooley)
General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy & stable
Paper color: - White
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Red, pink, green, brown
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 20in x 15in (510mm x
380mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Discolouration to the top left & right
margins
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
|