This stunning new series of pocketbooks from Kew offer a snapshot into the diverse and beautiful world of plants. Each book lavishly showcases choice examples from individual plant groups or collections, beginning with the popular plant groups Palms and Cacti. The Library, Art and Archives at Kew is one of the most extensive botanical libraries in the world, with the oldest item dating back to the 1370s. In this new pocketbook series from Kew, each book presents 40 botanical paintings from the collection, illustrating the variety within each plant group, as well as the diversity of the collection and artistic styles. An introductory chapter by a Kew expert provides an overview of palms, and extended captions accompany each painting. The luxury finish on these books make them a must-have gift item, printed on uncoated paper and with a cloth and foil finish.

This beautifully illustrated book is the first practical step-by-step guide to using coloured pencils in botanical painting and is written by Ann Swan, one of the top exponents of the genre. Water-soluble and oil-based coloured pencils are becoming increasingly popular for botanical painting as they are easier to use than traditional watercolour and are more forgiving, yet they produce the same stunning effects. They are especially suitable for the accuracy needed to paint in the botanical style of illustration. In this book Ann Swan gives helpful advice on all aspects of working with coloured pencils, including the techniques you will have to master - underpainting, layering and burnishing. She also demontrates how to mix and build up colour, and how to add those finishing touches that will complete your painting successfully. Several full step-by-step demonstrations are included to show how these techniques are put into practice. The book concludes with a gallery of coloured pencil works by the author, students of botanical painting and other professional botanical painters, providing a wonderful source of reference and inspiration.

Fern Fever (or Pteridomania, to give it its official name), hit Britain between 1837 and 1914 and peaked between 1840 and 1890. Although in previous centuries ferns played an important role in customs and folklore, it was only in this period that they were coveted for aesthetic reasons and that man's passion for them reached its zenith.
The craze for collecting ferns reached such epidemic proportions that it affected the very existence of some species. The fern craze started to gather momentum in the 1840s; books and magazines maintained that fern growing was a hobby that anyone could enjoy as ferns would grow in the glazed fernery, garden, shady yard, window box or even indoors in Wardian Cases. The mania also spread from the living plant to depicting it in architecture and the decorative arts. Even roads, villas and terraced houses were named after the fern.
This book, the first to deal exclusively with the subject for nearly forty years, looks at the how the craze developed, the ways in which ferns were incorporated into garden and home, and the spread of the fern through Victorian material and visual culture.

Treasures of Botanical Art reveals the history of botanical painting, its beauty and science, with works from two renowned collections and over one hundred significant artists, dating from the late 1400s through to today. Paintings featured from the Kew collection include works by well-known artists the Bauer brothers, Redoute, Ehret, Fitch, Lilian Snelling and Margaret Mee as well as many lesser known artists. Contemporary works are featured from the Sherwood collection by a host of international artists. Over 200 stunning botanical paintings are showcased in this gift book, accompanied with informative text on the origins, history and relevance of botanical art, as well as information on the plants themselves. Biographies of over 120 artists are provided at the end of the book, revealing the historical and international background of this genre. 'Two of the best botanical minds come together in this beautifully illustrated book...the illustrations, from the Kew Collection, are breath-taking and the text wonderfully informative'. Oxford Times 'This book is a tribute both to Shirley Sherwood and to Kew, and should be bought by everyone with an interest in botanical illustration'. Curtis's Botanical Magazine

An essential reference, this gorgeous book documents the magnificent botanical prints produced by notable artists of the 17th through the turn of the 20th centuries. Celebrated artists include Basil Besler, Maria Sybilla Merian, Mark Catesby, Georg Ehret, George Brookshaw, Robert John Thornton, Pierre Joseph Redoute, and many others. Illustrated with over 300 full-color images of original and valuable botanical prints, this book fills a void in the literature, as few good botanical references remain in print. The text recounts the fascinating lives and passions of the artists and their patrons, the technical advances in printmaking, and the history and cultural influences that shaped the depiction of flowers, plants, and trees. Also discussed are many variables affecting the values of original antique botanical prints including condition, rarity, historical significance, and aesthetic appeal. A range of prices is included to guide you in your collecting and a section on framing, displaying, and proper storage makes this an indispensable reference. A fascinating book for collectors of botanical prints, gardeners, and those interested in the history of flowers.

This is an illustrated volume that presents a selection of the manuscripts, herbals, and printed botanical texts from the Rare Book Collection at Dumbarton Oaks. Representing pivotal works in the intellectual history of Europe from the 16th to the 20th centuries, these drawings, books, and manuscripts are among the most significant materials conserved in the Rare Book Reading Room.

Very little is known about The Green Florilegium. Neither signed nor dated, it is generally attributed to the German painter Hans Simon Holtzbecker and originates from the library at Gottorp Castle in Schleswig, on the border of Germany and Denmark. The album now resides at the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen. Recently the book was painstakingly restored, allowing the delicate illustrations to come to new life in their original colors. This beautiful and affordable volume reproduces the original work of 400 botanical illustrations in its entirety. It also includes an introductory essay and captions with basic information on each flower. This lovely book is a must-have for lovers of botanical illustration and a sublime example of the art of conservation.

Revered by gardeners the world over since they were first introduced into cultivation from Asia over 300 years ago, magnolias have lost none of their allure, with many new introductions beautifying gardens worldwide. Magnolias in Art and Cultivation is the first illustrated book on magnolias and contains information on all species and around 100 hybrids. With over 150 botanical paintings, artist Barbara Oozeerally captures these plants in breathtakingly beautiful detail; described by botanical art collector Dr Shirley Sherwood as 'an extraordinary series of important and beautiful plant portraits'. The informative and authoritative text by Jim Gardiner accompanies these paintings and provides a variety of information about magnolias, including their cultivation; together with Stephen A. Spongberg's full botanical descriptions. This is a truly unique volume which will be sought after by gardener and artist alike! Some of the paintings from the book will be exhibited in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew, 15 January - August 2014.

"A Delicate Art" highlights the paintings and photography of six artists in Alberta who with passion and long moments of observation have made an inspired contribution to wildflower art. Covering a period of one hundred years to the present, the story behind these creators Mary Schaffer Warren, Mary Vaux Walcott, William Copeland McCalla, Annora Brown, Robert Sinclair and Carole Harmon is also told. A blend of biography, botanical and regional art history and commentary by the artists themselves about their treasured subject, "A Delicate Art" is intended for the lay reader and is accompanied by sumptuous reproductions of the artwork and an alluring overall design that will appeal to anyone interested in art, mountain-life and gardening.