| O'Brien for Haines & Sons The Four Seasons 18 x 22 inches A set of four hand coloured copper plate engravings done by O'Brian for Haines and Son and published in London in 1797. Haines and Son were prolific print publishers in the late C18th and early C19th. From 1794-1802 they were based in Fetter Lane, from where these charming prints were issued. Each plate depicts a bouquet of garden flowers relevant to the season. Interest in botany, and gardening in particular, increased throughout the Georgian period as English explorers travelled the globe and returned with ever more exotic species. Princess Augusta, the mother of George III, opened the first botanic gardens at Kew in 1759 and an English obsession was born. Books, painting and prints followed and no library would be complete without magnificent bindings of botanical studies. These particular plates have been meticulously hand coloured using watercolour and gouache. £2400 Set of 4 |
