Curtis's Botanical Magazine
 Sanguinaria canadensis. Canada Puccoon, or Bloodwort. Illustration from The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 5 | |
| Editor | Martyn Rix |
|---|---|
| Categories | Horticulture, Botany, Botanical illustration. |
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Circulation | Subscription |
| Publisher | Blackwell Publishing |
| First issue | 1787 |
| Company | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
| Country | England |
| Website | http://www.kew.org/publications/curtisbotmag.html |
| ISSN | 1355-4905 |
The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name Curtis's Botanical Magazine.
Each of the issues contains a description, in formal yet accessible language, and is renowned for featuring the work of two centuries of botanical illustrators. Many plants received their first publication on the pages, the description given was enhanced by the keenly detailed illustrations.
The first issue, in 1787, was begun by William Curtis, as both an illustrated gardening and botanical journal. Curtis was an apothecary and botanist who held a position at Kew Gardens, who had published the highly praised (but poorly sold) Flora Londinensis a few years before. The publication familiarized its readers with ornamental and exotic plants, which it presented in octavo format. Artists who had previously given over their flower paintings to an affluent audience, now saw their work published in a format accessible by a wider one. The illustrations were initially hand-coloured prints, taken from copper engravings and intended to complement the text. Identification by a general reader was given in exploded details, some of were given as a section. This was accompanied by a page or two of text describing the plants properties, history, growth characteristics, and some common names for the species.
The first volume's illustrations were mostly by Sydenham Edwards, a dispute with the editors saw his departure to start the rival Botanical Registrar. The credit for the first plate (Iris persica) goes to James Sowerby, as did a dozen of Edwards contributions. The first thirty volumes used copper engraving to provide the plates, the hand colouring of these was performed by up to thirty people. An issue might have a circulation of 3000 copies, with 3 plates in each. As costs of production rose, and demand increased, results would be variable within a run. The later use of machine colouring would provide uniformity to the artists work, although the process could not give the same detail for many years. The magazine has been considered to be the premier journal for early botanical illustration.
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When Curtis died, having completed 13 volumes, his friend John Sims became editor and changed the name. William Hooker was the editor from 1826, bringing to it his experience as a botanist, and as author of the rival magazine, Exotic Botany. It has been published continuously ever since, with a change of name to The Kew Magazine from 1984 to 1994. In 1985 the name reverted to that of the widely cited, Curtis's Botanical Magazine. It continues to be published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew as a publication for those interested in horticulture, ecology or botanical illustration.
The standard form of abbreviation is Curtis's Bot. Mag.
References
- Editor: Martyn Rix. "Curtis's Botanical Magazine". Scientific Publications: Journals. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
Each four-part volume contains 24 plant portraits reproduced from watercolour originals
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - Hugh Cahill (2006-05-10). "Case 3: William Curtis and The Botanical Magazine". Nature observed: The work of the botanical artist. King's College London. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
- "Curtis's Botanical Magazine. Kew". Publication Details. IPNI. 2003-07-02. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
Id: 18697-2
- Julie Gardham (2004). "Curtis's Botanical Magazine". SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT: Book of the Month. GLASGOW UNIVERSITY LIBRARY. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
it is the oldest periodical in existence featuring coloured plates, of which more than 11,000 have now been produced.
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External links
- William Curtis. The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 1. Project Gutenberg.
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See also
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