February
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
DimensionsOverall: 17 × 13in. (43.2 × 33cm)
Other (Plate): 16 × 12in. (40.6 × 30.5cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1940-385,A
DescriptionEach flower is individually numbered.Lower margin reads: "1 Duke Vantol Tulip./ 2 Silver Edg.d Maternus./ 3 Yellow bloach.d Alaternus./ 4 Cornelian Cherry./ 5 White Mezereon/ 6 Red Mezereon./ 7 double Narcissus. / of Constantinople./ 8 Single Anemone Purple & White./ 9 Venetian Vetch. true/ 10 Double blew Hepatica./ 11 Early white Hyacinth./ 12 Blush red Dens Caninus./ 13 Spring Cyclamen white Edg.d/ 14. Strip'd & Edg.d Polyanthos./ 15 Single white Hepatica./ 16 Single blew Hepatica./ 17 White Dens Caninus/ FEBRUARY/ 18 Double Peach colour'd Hepatica./ 19 The greater Snow-drop./ 20 White Crocus./ 21 Double Snow-drop./ 22 Small yellow Crocus./ 23 Great blew Crocus./ 24 Small blew Crocus./ 25 Single dark-red Anemone./ 26 Pantaloon Strip'd Polyanthos./ 27 Persian Iris./ 28 Yellow dutch Crocus./ 29 Scotch white strip'd Crocus./ 30 Blew Hyacinth Passtoute./ 31 Fruit bearing Almond./ 32 Single Prussian blew Anemone./ 33 Yellow colutea./ 34 peach colour'd single Hepatica./ 35 Double Pilewort./ Desigin'd by P.tr Casteels./ 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.
