June
Date1730
Publisher
Robert Furber
(c. 1674 - 1756)
After work by
Peter Casteels
Engraver
Henry Fletcher
OriginEngland, London
MediumLine engraving and etching on laid paper with hand coloring
DimensionsFramed: 27 1/4 × 22 1/4in.
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1940-389,A
DescriptionLower margin reads: "1 Perennial dwarf Sun flower./ Ultamarine & Prusian blew-/ 2. Iris Major./ 3 Blew Nigella, / or Fennel flower./ 4 Moon Trefoile./ 5 Upright Sweet William./ 6 Saxifrage./ 7 Cinque foile. / 8 Pansies, or Hearts-ease./ 9 Maidens blush Rose./ 10 Yellow Jasmine./ 11 Blew Corn flower./ 12 Blush Belgick Rose./ 13 The Francford Rose./ 14 Double Martagon./ 15 Orchis or Bee flower. / 16 Scarlet Colutea./ JUNE / 17 Fraxinella. / 18 Moss province Rose./ 19 Double Virginian Silk-grass. / 20 White Rose. / 21 Dutch Hundred Leav'd Rose./ 22 White Batchelors Button. / 23 Rosa Mundi. / 24 Mountain Lynchniss. / 25 Dwarf Iris Strip'd. / 26 White Jasmine. / 27 Scarlet Geranium. / 28 Yellow Martagon. / 29 Red Martagon./ 30 Teucrium or Germander. / 31 Mountain dwarf Pink. / 32 Yellow Corn Marygold./ 33 Purple Sweat Pea. / 34 Green Valerian./ Design'd by P.tr Casteel. / From the Collection of Rob.t Furber, Gardiner at Kensington. 1730./ Engrav'd by H. Fletcher."Label TextIn 1730, a London nurseryman named Robert Furber advertised that he intended to publish a set of twelve prints, one for each month of the year depicting the flowers that were in bloom for that particular month. The prints were based on paintings by the Flemish artist Pieter Casteels III and engraved by Henry Fletcher. Though beautiful, these prints were not purely decorative, but a cleverly devised marketing scheme to promote Furber’s nursery in Kensington. They were the first illustrated seed catalogue published in England and they launched a flurry of imitations. In his advertisements, Furber promised that there would be upwards of 30 different kinds of flowers per print, with each flower labeled with a number and identified at the bottom of the print. And they were all available for purchase from his nursery. Ultimately, the twelve prints represented nearly 400 different flowering species.
ProvenanceFrom the Collection of Robert Furber, Gardiner at Kensington, 1730.
