It seems so hard to believe. A small little book that dates all the way back to 1757 would still be providing us with wonderful flower images. The title seems almost larger than the book…The florist, or, An extensive and curious collection of flowers, for the imitation of young ladies, either in drawing or in needle but it has a number of wonderful little sketches, drawings and colored images like this one of a hyacinth flower.
As is so typical of works this old, the artist’s name is lost to history thought I suspect there were a number of artists involved in publishing this flower drawing.
The original scan picked up a lot of the image on the facing page and as you could imagine, there were a lot of stray marks and foxing. I know some folks like a bit of grunge now and again but this one was too grungy. I’ve also resized it so it will print on a 4 by 6 postcard. The detail is good enough that you could probably resize it either up or down if you wish.
A single hyacinth flower in a bluish purple color is in full bloom and surrounded by several leaves from the plant. The drawing identifies the flower as being a double hyacinth.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
