Lady's Tresses and Twayblade, Antique British Orchid Plate, circa 1873

Plate 213 of Anne Pratt's British flora, an original antique color plate printed for Frederick Warne and Co. of London about 1873, gives seven British orchids: two twayblades, the bird's nest, three lady's tresses and the creeping goodyera. The caption names Common Twayblade, Heart-Leaved Twayblade, Common Birds-Nest, Fragrant Lady's Tresses, Summer Lady's Tresses, Drooping Lady's Tresses and Creeping Goodyera.

The bird's nest orchid stands at the center in warm honey brown, leafless and dense with flowers, with its cluster of thick pale roots drawn at the foot. The twayblades are given at the left with slender spikes of small yellow green flowers above broad ribbed leaves, and beside them at the far left the fragrant lady's tresses carries small white flowers in a spiral up a slender stem. At the right, tall spikes of small yellow flowers rise from narrow leaves, with brown tubers drawn at their base, and a low leafy plant with creeping roots fills the lower right. Brown tubers and fibrous roots are also drawn at the lower left.

This plate belongs to The Flowering Plants, Grasses, Sedges, and Ferns of Great Britain, the six volume flora that Anne Pratt, 1806 to 1893, wrote and illustrated herself. It was published in London by Frederick Warne and Co. of Bedford Street, Covent Garden, for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, with Scribner, Welford and Armstrong as the New York house. The plates were printed in color by William Dickes of London, a licensee of George Baxter's color process. This sheet comes from Volume V, whose title page records 237 species in color.

Even age toning. Marked handling soiling along the right and top edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom right and top left corners.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.