An Album of 40 Botanical Watercolours
Folio, measuring 354 x 262 mm (13 7/8 x 10 1/4 in.), contemporary dark green quarter Russia and boards, spine 5 raised bands ruled in gilt, calf edges to boards with gilt rule, the binding has been skilfully conserved, engraved armorial book plate of James Davidson on inner board
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Page 1
Catalogue Entry
Trillium Grandiflorum and Trillium Erectum
Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Trillium grandiflorum./Large flowered Trillium. Trillium Erectum/Upright flowered/Trillium./ Bowltons Woods. (lower left and right)
280 x 215 mm. (11 x 8 1/2 in.)
Note:
Trillium Gradiflorum
Is a species of flowering plant, and it is native to eastern North America from northern Quebec to the southern parts of the United States through the Appalachian Mountains into northern most Georgia and west to Minnesota. It also thrives on Vancouver Island.
Trillium Erectum
Is a species of flowering plant native to the east and north-east of North America. It is a Spring ephemeral, an herbaceous perennial whose life-cycle is synchronised with that of the deciduous forests where it lives.
Page 2
Catalogue Entry
Trillium Erectum
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Trillium Erectum./Upright Trillium/Bowltons Woods. (lower right)
279 x 194 mm (10 7/8 x 7 5/8 in.)
Note:
Is a species of flowering plant native to the east and north-east of North America. It is a Spring ephemeral, an herbaceous perennial whose life-cycle is synchronised with that of the deciduous forests where it lives.
Page 3
Cornus Canadensis
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Cornus Canadensis./Canadian Cornel. (lower right)
278 x 194 mm (10 7/8 x 7 5/8 in.)
Catalogue Entry
Is a species of flowering plant in the Cornaceae (dogwood) family, native to northern Asia, northern USA, Canada and Greenland.
Page 4
Catalogue Entry
Asarum Canadense
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Asarum Canadense./Canadian Asarabaca or/Wild Ginger.Snake Root. (lower right)
285 x 213 mm. (11 1/4 x 8 3/8 in.)
Note:
Is an herbaceous perennial native to deciduous forests in eastern North America, from the Great Plains east to the Atlantic Coast, and from south-eastern Canada south to the approximately the fall line in the south-eastern United States.
Page 5
Catalogue Entry
Medeola Virginiana
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Medeola Virginiana./Indian Cucumber. (lower right)
283 x 192 mm. (11 1/8 x 7 5/8 in.)
Note:
Medeola Virginiana is found from Minnesota to Nova Scotia, south to Florida, and to Louisiana. It grows in rich, moist woods.
Page 6
Catalogue Entry
Aquilegia Canadensis
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Aquilegia Canadensis./Canadian Columbine./Fales of Niagara.(lower right)
278 x 193 mm (10 7/8 x 7 5/8 in.)
Note:
Is an herbaceous perennial native to woodland and rocky slopes in eastern North America, prized for its red and yellow flowers. Native American tribes used various parts red columbine in herbal remedies.
Page 7
Catalogue Entry
Sanguinaria Canadensis
Pencil, and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Signed with initials and inscribed Sanguinaria Canadensis. Canada Puccoon,/or Bloodroot./Woods.Fergus. C.W.
277 x 188 mm (10 7/8 x 7 3/8 in.)
Note:
Is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America.
Page 8
Catalogue Entry
Gaultheria Procumbens
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Gaultheria Procumbens./Trailing Gaultheria./Partridge berries./Mountain Tea. (lower right)
290 x 220 mm. (11 3/8 x 8 5/8 in.)
Note:
Is a species of Gaultheria native to North eastern North America from Newfoundland west to south-eastern Manitoba, and south to Alabama. The plant has been used by various tribes of Native Americans for medicinal purposes.
Page 9
Catalogue Entry
Podophyllum Peltatum
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Podophyllum Pellatum./Ducks foot, or May Apple (lower right)
280 x 220 mm. (11 x 8 5/8 in.)
Note:
Is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to deciduous forests in eastern North America.
Page 10
Catalogue Entry
Solidago Lanceolata
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Solidage Lanceolata./Tarragon leaved Golden Rod. (lower right)
280 x 194 mm. (11 x 7 5/8 in.)
Note:
Is a tall blond wildflower native to North America, state flower of both Nebraska and Kentucky.
Page 11
Catalogue Entry
Monarda Didyma
Pencil and watercolour heightened with bodycolour and gum arabic
Inscribed Monarde Didyma/Scarlet Monarda or /Oswego Tea. (lower right) and Milelake Plains. (lower left)
280 x 195mm. (11 x 7 5/8 in.)
Note:
Is an aromatic herb in the family Lamiaceae, native to eastern North America from Maine west to Ohio and south to northern Georgia.
Page 12
Catalogue Entry
Monarda Fistulosa
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Monarda Fistulosa./Crimson Monarda./Milelake Plains.
276 x 192 mm. (10 7/8 x 7 1/2 in.)
Note:
Is a wildflower in the mint family widespread and abundant as a native plant in much of North America.
Page 13
Catalogue Entry
Erythronium Dens-Canis
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Erythronium Dens Canis./Dogs tooth Violet./Bowltons Woods. (lower right)
280 x 190 mm. (11 x 7 1/2 in.)
Note:
Is a bulbous herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family of Liliaceae. It is native to Europe.
Page 14
Catalogue Entry
Erythronium Americanum
Pencil and watercolour heightened with bodycolour and gum arabic
Inscribed and signed with initials Erythronium Americanum./Yellow-Flowered Dogstooth Violet./Cobowry. C.W. (lower right)
272 x 203 mm. (10 3/4 x 8 in.)
Note:
Is an herbaceous flowering plant in the family of Lillaceae. The range is from southern Canada south to Georgia, west to Mississippi, and north to Minnesota.
Page 15
Catalogue Entry
Rubus Odoratus
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Rubus Odoratus./Flowering Raspberry./Bowltons Woods./Cobowry. (lower right)
280 x 193 mm. (11 x 7 5/8 in.)
Note:
Is a species of Rubus, native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to Ontario, and south to Georgia and Alabama.
Page 16
Catalogue Entry
Convallaria Macemosa
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Signed with initials and Inscribed Convallaria.Macemosa./Cluster flowered Solomans Seal./Cobourg. C.W. (lower right)
280 x 195 mm. (11 x 7 3/4 in.)
Note:
Is a species of flowering plant native to North America. It is a common, widespread plant known from every US state, except Hawaii, and from every Canadian province and territory except Nunavut, as well as from Mexico.
Page 17
Catalogue Entry
Convallaria Bifolia
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Convallaria Bifolia/Least Solomons Seal./Butans Woods?. (lower right)
280 x 222 mm. (11 x 8 3/4 in.)
Note:
Is a localized common rhizomatous flowering plant, native from western Europe to east to Siberia, China and Japan.
Page 18
Catalogue Entry
Arum Triphyllum Zebriuum
Pencil and watercolour and bodycolour
Signed with initials and inscribed Arum Triphyllum Zebriuum./Zebra flowered Arum/Woods. C.W. (lower right)
278 x 190 mm. (11 x 7 1/2 in.)
Note:
Is a rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial plant native to almost all of the United States and Canada.
Page 19
Catalogue Entry
Arum Triphyllum Zebriuum
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed and signed with initials Arum Triphyllum Zebriuum/Green Zebra Flowered Arum./Woods./C.W. (lower right)
298 x 222 mm (11 3/4 x 8 3/4 in.)
Note:
Is a rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial plant native to almost all of the United States and Canada.
Page 20
Catalogue Entry
Lilium Canadense
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Lilium Canadense./Deep coloured Canadian Lily. (lower right)
282 x 205 mm (11 1/8 x 8 in.)
Note:
Is a native of eastern North America.
Page 21
Catalogue Entry
Lilium Canadense
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Lilium Canadense./Canadian Lily. (lower right)
280 x 182 mm. (11 x 7 3/8 in.)
Note:
Is a native of eastern North America.
Page 22
Catalogue Entry
Uoularia Grandiflora
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Signed with initials and inscribed Uoularia Grandiflora./Large Yellow Uoularia./Bowltons Woods./Cobowry./C.W. (lower right)
280 x 190 mm. (11 x 7 1/2 in.)
Note:
Is a species of flowering plant in the family of Colchicaceae, native to eastern North America. Its native range extends from the Appalachian mountains west to the Dakotas, north to Manitoba and Quebec, and south to Louisiana and Georgia.
Page 23
Catalogue Entry
Uoularia Perfoliata
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Uoularia Perfoliata./Perfoliata Uoularia./Bowltons Woods Cobowry.
280 x 205 mm. (11 x 8 1/8 in.)
Note:
Is a perennial forb native to the eastern United States and Canada, which produces pale yellow flowers in spring.
Page 24
Catalogue Entry
Claytonia Virginica
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed and signed with initials Claytonia Virginica./Virginica Claytonia./Woods./ C.W. (lower right)
280 x 203 mm. (11 x 8 in.)
Note:
Is an herbaceous perennial in the family of Portulacaceae. Its native range is in eastern North America. Its scientific name honours Colonial Virginia botanist John Clayton (1694-1773).
Page 25
Catalogue Entry
Mimulus Ringens
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Mimulus Ringens./Narrow Leaved Monkey Flower/The Creek. Lake Ontario. (lower right)
280 x 190 mm. (11 x 7 1/2 in.)
Note:
It is native to eastern and central North America and there are occurrences in the western United States.
Page 26
Catalogue Entry
Vaccinium Resinosum
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Vaccinium Resinosum/Red Flowered Clammy Whortleberry (lower right)
280 x 190 mm. (11 x 7 1/2 in.)
Note:
Is a short evergreen shrub in the heath family that bears edible fruit, native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America. Commercial cultivation is undertaken in the US Pacific Northwest.
Page 27
Catalogue Entry
Rhodora Canadensis
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Rhodora Canadensis/Canadian Rhodora (lower right)
275 x 185 mm. (10 3/4 x 7 1/4 in.)
Note:
Is a deciduous flowering shrub that is native to north-eastern North America.
Page 28
Catalogue Entry
Fumaria Cucallaria
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Fumaria Cucallaria/Two spurred fumitory (lower right)
280 x 205 mm. (11 x 8 1/8 in.)
Note:
Native to North America, especially Connecticut, Maine, Massachussetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Page 29
Catalogue Entry
Tiarella Cordifolia
Pencil and watercolour heightened with white and gum arabic
Inscribed Tiarella Cordifolia/Heart Leaved Tiarella. (lower right)
280 x 190 mm. (11 x 7 1/2 in.)
Note:
Is a species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant native to North America.
Page 30
Catalogue Entry
Sarrancenia Purpurea
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Sarracenia Purpurea./Broad-lipped purple Side saddle Flower. (lower right and middle)
290 x 205 mm. (11 3/8 x 8 1/8 in.)
Note:
Is a carnivorous plant in the family of Sarraceniaceae. Its range includes almost the entire eastern seaboard of the United States, the Great Lakes, and south eastern Canada.
Page 31
Catalogue Entry
Sarrancenia Flava
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Sarrancenia Flava./Yellow SideSaddle Flower. (lower right)
280 x 195 mm. (11 x 7 3/4 in.)
Note:
Is a carnivorous plant in the family of Sarraceniaceae. Its range extends from southern Alabama, through Florida and Georgia, to the coastal plains of southern Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Page 32
Catalogue Entry
Anenome Hepatica
Pencil and watercolour heightened with white and gum arabic
Inscribed and signed with initials Anenome Hepatica/Hepatica, or Noble Liver Wort./Ellora. C.W.
277 x 190 mm. (10 7/8 x 7 1/2 in.)
Note:
Is an herbaceous perennial growing from a rhizome in the buttercup family, native to woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Page 33
Catalogue Entry
Lobelia Cardinalis
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Lobelia Cardinalis./Scarlet Lobelia, or Cardinals Flower./Grand River./Fergus. (lower right)
277 x 192 mm. (10 7/8 x 7 5/8 in.)
Note:
Is a species of Lobelia native to the Americas, from south-eastern Canada south through the eastern and south-western United States, Mexico and Central America to Northern Colombia.
Page 34
Catalogue Entry
Cypripedeium Album
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Cypripedium Album./White Petald Ladies Slipper./Cedar Swamp./Long Cross Road.
280 x 195 mm. (11 x 7 5/8 in.)
Note:
Is a rare terrestrial temperate ladys-slipper orchid native to northern North America.
Page 35
Catalogue Entry
Cypripedeium Parviflorum
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed and signed with initials Cypripedium Parviflorum./Yellow Ladies Slipper/Long Cross Road.Fergus./C.W.
280 x 200 mm. (11 x 7 7/8 in.)
Note:
Is a ladys-slipper orchid found in North America.
Page 36
Catalogue Entry
Menispermum Canadense
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Menispermum Canadense/Canadian Moon Seed. (lower right)
297 x 203 mm. (11 3/4 x 8 in.)
Note:
Is a flowering plant in the family Menispermaceae, native to eastern North America, from southern Canada south to northern Florida, and from the Atlantic coast west to Manitoba and Texas.
Catalogue Entry
Page 37
Phlox Divaricata
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed and signed with initials Phlox Divaricata./Early Flowering Lychnidea./Ulora. C.W.
280 x 195mm. (11 x 7 5/8 in.)
Note:
Is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemonoaceae, native to forests and fields in eastern North America.
Page 38
Catalogue Entry
Rhus Toxicodendron
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Rhus Toxicodendron/Rooting Poison Oak. (lower right)
295 x 205 mm. (11 5/8 x 8 1/8 in.)
Note:
Is a poisonous North American and Asian plant that is well known for its production of urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the sap of the plant that causes itching.
Page 39
Catalogue Entry
Nymphaea Halmiana
Pencil and watercolour heightened with gum arabic
Inscribed Nymphaea Halmiana./Canadian Waterlily. (lower right)
280 x 192 mm. (11 x 7 5/8 in.)
Note:
Nymphaea is a family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called water lilies and live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains eight large-flowered genera with about 70 species.
Page 40
Catalogue Entry
Pyrola Maculata
Pencil and watercolour heightened with bodycolour
Inscribed Pyrola Maculata./Spotted Leaved Winter green. (lower right)
280 x 192 mm. (11 x 7 5/8 in.)
Note:
Is a small perennial evergreen herb native to eastern North America and Central America, from southern Quebec and west to Illinois and south to Florida and Panama.
This album of watercolours, probably executed circa 1863 (some of the paper have Whatman watermarks with this date), is a fascinating insight into botanical classification in the mid nineteenth century. All the drawings are inscribed with the names of the classification of each of the plants in Latin and their common name. Some of the drawings are also inscribed with the location, such as page 6 Niagra. All the plants except one on page 13 are from North America. The bookplate on this album has also identified the collection that this album was in in the 19th century.
1.I would like to thank Nick Hide of the Clan Davidson for providing this information.