October

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): 40 1/4 × 12 1/2in. (102.2 × 31.8cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1940-393,A

DescriptionEach flower labeled individually
Lower margin: "1 Tuberose flower./ 2 Single Nasturtium./ 3 Yellow peren.t Poppy./ 4 Purple Polyanthos./ 5 Saffron flower./ 6 Strip'd double Cotchicum./ 7 Single blew Periwinkle./ 8 Trumpet flower./ 9 Camomile double./ 10 Semper-Ugustus Auricula./ 11 Indian Tobacco./ 12 Arbutus double./ 13 Best flowering Geranium./ 14 Guernsey Lilly./ 15 Autumn Carnation./ 16 Agnes Castus./ 17 Long blowing Honeysuckle./ 18 Spiked Aster./ 19 Belladona Lilly./ 20 Ever green Honysuckle./ 21 Leonurus , or Archangel tree./ 22 Black Cranes bill./ 23 Scarlet Cranes bill./ 24 Marigold tree./ 25 Musk Scabious./ 26 Double white Musk rose./ 27 Box leav'd Myrtle./ 28 Michaelmas Daisie. / 29 Yellow Passion flower./ 30 Holly-hock always double./ 31 Virginia Shrub acre./ 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.