Vol X Of The Botanists Repository Comprising Coloured Engravings Of New And Rare Plants only With Botanical Descriptions In Latin And English

Author: Henry Andrews
Price: £1650
Publisher: The Author Printed By T Bensley, London, UK
Edition: First edition
Publication Date: 1815
Format: Quarto. Full calf.
Condition: Good to very good.

Description:
Volume X only. Quarto. Includes 56 full-page hand-coloured plates many of which are folding. Binding worn and front board detached. Hand coloured plates. Some plates have the usual offsetting but the vast majority are nice and clean with only very minor marks and spotting. Binding in poor condition. Plates in very good condition indeed. Scarce.

Henry Andrews And The Botanists Repository: A Short Description

In the annals of botanical illustration, The Botanist’s Repository for New and Rare Plants stands as a remarkable testament to both scientific diligence and artistic refinement. Published between 1797 and 1812, this extensive series was the work of Henry Cranke Andrews, an English botanical artist, engraver, and publisher, whose unique contribution remains a vital link in the story of early modern botany.

At a time when Britain was witnessing a surge of interest in horticulture, fuelled by global exploration and the expanding empire, Andrews recognised a growing market for botanical literature that was both accurate and accessible. Unlike the grand and often prohibitively expensive folios of the era, The Botanist’s Repository was designed to be more affordable, making it available to a broader range of plant enthusiasts, nurserymen, and amateur botanists.

What distinguished Andrews was his extraordinary independence. In a departure from the norm, he not only illustrated and coloured the plates himself but also undertook the engraving and, in many cases, the publication. This degree of control allowed him to maintain consistency and quality throughout the 664 hand-coloured engravings issued across ten volumes. His illustrations, finely detailed and botanically precise, were often accompanied by concise yet informative descriptions of plant characteristics, cultivation advice, and, where applicable, the plant’s origins.

Andrews had a keen eye for the aesthetic, balancing scientific accuracy with artistic appeal. His work captured the delicacy and intricacy of floral structure, elevating his plates from mere documentation to art in their own right. This fusion of beauty and botany made the series widely appreciated not only for its practical use but also for its visual splendour.

Though not formally trained in botany, Andrews displayed a deep familiarity with his subject matter, likely aided by close relationships with prominent horticulturists and access to leading nurseries. His wife, Anne Kennedy, daughter of the respected nurseryman John Kennedy, may have played a crucial role in facilitating these connections, grounding Andrews’ work in the horticultural networks of the period.

Despite the critical acclaim and lasting legacy of his work, Andrews’ name was long overshadowed by his more institutionally connected contemporaries. Only in recent decades has his reputation been fully restored, with historians and collectors recognising the immense value of The Botanist’s Repository—not merely as a catalogue of plants, but as a cultural artefact reflecting the vibrant intersection of science, art, and commerce in Georgian Britain.

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