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2020-346,13, Print
Title Page: Twelve Months of Flowers
2020-346,13, Print

Title Page: Twelve Months of Flowers

Date1749
Maker John Bowles (1701 - 1779)
After work by Robert Furber (c. 1674 - 1756)
OriginEngland, London
MediumLine engraving and etching with hand color
DimensionsOverall: 13 7/8 × 9 7/8in. (35.2 × 25.1cm)
Credit LineBequest of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Hennage
Object number2020-346,13
DescriptionTitle reads: "FLORA/ Or a curious collection of y.e most/ BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS/ as they appear in their greatest/ Perfection each Month of the Year."
Lower margin reads: "Printed for Iohn Bowles at the Black Horse in Cornhill"
Label TextIn 1730, a London nurseryman named Robert Furber published a set of twelve prints, one for each month of the year depicting the flowers that were in bloom for that month. The prints were a huge success both in England and abroad. John Custis purchased a set in 1734 of Furber's prints in. Imitators soon followed, including John Bowles who published this quatro version around 1744. Bowles reduced the size of the plates, changed some of the compositions in order to avoid copyright laws.
ProvenanceDates Unknown, Parker Galleries (London, England); dates unknown, purchased by Ms. Marsha Davis (Washington DC); dates unknown, purchased by Arader Galleries, (New York); before 1990, purchased by June and Joseph Hennage (Williamsburg, Virginia) - present, given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.