"The Common Blue Passion Flower", New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus von Linnaeus,...

Published between the years 1799 and 1807 by Dr. Robert Thornton, New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus von Linnaeus was an unlikely medium for some of the most unusual botanical prints ever made. Ostensibly, Thornton’s discussed the reproductive cycle of plants and their classification system, but the book’s final section, The Temple of Flora, contained the elaborate prints that made the work famous. The plates were printed in both color and black inks using a variety of printing methods and were then all finished by hand with watercolor.