Antique Mark Catesby White Magnolia Engraving

Both images in this collage have interesting histories. The engraving of the Magnolia was done for Mark Catesby's 1747 " Natural History of Florida, Carolina and the Bahama Islands," the first book on the flora and fauna of North America. The illustration was undertaken by Georg Dionysis Ehret at Catesby's invitation. Unlike Catesby, Ehret never visted North America and relied on samples sent back to Europe by ship. This watercolour actually depicts two different species of magnolia - the leaf of the cucumber tree (Magnolia acuminata) with the flower of the sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana) - suggesting that specimens had become separated en route from Virginia to England and were then incorrectly matched up in the final the etched plate.