Antique Print-ARUM MACULATUM-SNAKESHEAD-ADDER'S ROOT-ARACEAE-Miller-1770

Description: This rare original antique print originates from ´Illustratio systematis sexualis Linnaei´ (An Illustration of the Sexual System of Linnaeus) by John Miller published in London ca. 1770. Miller was a Nuremberg artist who anglicized his name on arrival in London in 1744. The botanical aspects of the plates were overseen initially by Gowan Knight (1713 - 1772), the first Principal Librarian of the British Museum and a friend of Fothergill's. The plates were issued both coloured and uncoloured, the latter, for scientific purposes, were published with letters, the former for aesthetic reasons were published without. The work appeared in twenty parts from 1770 to 1777 and was sold to 85 subscribers (who ordered 105 sets). Linnaeus himself was sent samples of the work for his approval and responded enthusiastically, considering it 'more beautiful and more accurate than any that had been seen since the world began' (Great Flower Books, 1990, p. 120). Nissen BBI 1372; Dunthorne 222; Henrey 1153; Stafleu and Cowan 6483. Artists and Engravers: John Miller, otherwise Johann Sebastian Mueller (1715 - c.1790), draughtsman and engraver, was born at Nuremberg and studied there under J. C. Weigel and M. Tyroff. In 1744 he came to England with his brother Tobias, an engraver of architecture, and he passed the remainder of his life in this country, chiefly practising as an engraver.