March
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 1/2 × 13in. (44.5 × 33cm)
Other (Plate): 16 1/4 × 12in. (41.3cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1940-386,A
DescriptionEach flower is individually numbered. Lower margin reads: "1 Royal Widow Auricula./ 2. Dwarf white starry Hyacinth./ 3 White Boslamon Narciss./ 4 High Admiral Anemone./ 5 Rhyven Narciss./ 6 White passe flower./ 7 White passe flower./ 7 White grape flower./ 8 The lesser black Hellebore./ 9 Danae Auricula./ 10 White flowering Almond./ 11 Dwarf blew starry Hyacinth./ 12 American flowering Maple./ 13 Goldfinch Polyanthos./ 14 Larger blew starry Hyacinth./ 15 Virginian flowering Maple./ 16 Narciss of Naples./ 17 Best Claremon Tulip./ 18 The checker'd Futillaria./ MARCH./ 19 Large leav'd Norway Maple./ 20 Double pulchra Hyacinth./ 21 Queen of France Narciss./ 22 Palto Auriflame Tulip./ 23 Blew Oriental Hyacinth./ 24 Single bloody Wall./ 25 Admiral blew Anemone./ 26 Bell Baptice Anemone./ 27 Monument Anemone./ 28 Red flowering Larch tree./ 29 Blew passe flower./ 30 Rose Tonker Anemone./ 31 White flowering Larch tree./ 32 Purple strip'd Anemone./ 33 The Velvet Iris./ 34 Jerusalem Cowslip./ Design'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.
