{"product_id":"elizabeth_blackwell__rosemary_a_curious_herbal_page_159","title":"Rosemary, A Curious Herbal Plate 159 – Elizabeth Blackwell, 1737","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRosemary, A Curious Herbal Plate 159 by Elizabeth Blackwell, 1737\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFramed Canvas Art\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis hand-colored copper engraving depicts \u003cstrong\u003eRosmarinus officinalis\u003c\/strong\u003e in precise botanical detail: a central woody stem rises vertically through the composition, branching symmetrically into slender, needle-like leaves rendered in \u003cstrong\u003emuted sage and olive green\u003c\/strong\u003e, while \u003cstrong\u003esmall lavender-blue florets\u003c\/strong\u003e cluster at the branch tips, their cool violet tones providing the only chromatic counterpoint to the prevailing greens and warm ochre of the stems. In the upper left corner, a reduced inset presents a \u003cstrong\u003emagnified cross-section of the flower\u003c\/strong\u003e alongside detached seeds, following the illustrative convention of the period by giving the viewer both the whole plant and its constituent parts simultaneously. The composition is spare and upright, with the plant occupying the full vertical field of the page against an aged cream ground, annotated at the base in period script with both the common name \"Rosemary\" and the Latin \"Rosmarinus.\" Within Blackwell's body of work, this plate is characteristic of her meticulous \u003cem\u003estipple and line engraving\u003c\/em\u003e technique, where restrained hand-applied watercolor washes animate forms that might otherwise read as purely scientific diagrams; the result sits at the precise intersection of \u003cem\u003ebotanical illustration\u003c\/em\u003e and decorative art.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eElizabeth Blackwell produced \u003cem\u003eA Curious Herbal\u003c\/em\u003e between 1737 and 1739 under extraordinary personal circumstances: her husband Alexander Blackwell had been imprisoned for debt, and she undertook the entire project — drawing, engraving, and hand-coloring all 500 plates — specifically to raise funds for his release. Working from specimens at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London, she completed the work largely without formal artistic training, a fact that makes the accuracy and consistency of the plates, including this rosemary study, all the more remarkable. The publication was formally endorsed by the College of Physicians and dedicated to Sir Hans Sloane, lending it immediate medical and scientific authority. In the context of \u003cem\u003eGeorgian botanical publishing\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eA Curious Herbal\u003c\/em\u003e stands as one of the few major illustrated herbals produced and engraved entirely by a single woman, and its plates were widely circulated and reprinted throughout the eighteenth century. Rosemary itself held considerable prominence in the herbalist tradition as a plant associated with memory, circulation, and preservation, making Plate 159 one of the herbal's more symbolically resonant entries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur archival \u003cem\u003egiclee\u003c\/em\u003e reproduction on museum-grade cotton canvas recovers the precise tonal transitions that make this plate compelling at close range: the \u003cstrong\u003ecool grey-violet of the florets\u003c\/strong\u003e graduating against the \u003cstrong\u003ewarm buff of the aged page ground\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the \u003cstrong\u003efine crosshatching in the stem engraving\u003c\/strong\u003e that gives the woody stalk its dimensional quality. Mass-produced offset lithography flattens these passages into a single midtone; our process, sourced from high-resolution museum scans and digitally restored for color fidelity, preserves the layered wash work and the fine engraved line simultaneously. The ornate composite frame, finished in antique gold, directly complements the ochre warmth of the period paper ground and reinforces the scholarly, \u003cem\u003ecabinet naturale\u003c\/em\u003e character of the original publication.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CanvasClassics","offers":[{"title":"Small (25 x 19) \/ Gold","offer_id":49073651384555,"sku":"1980611","price":195.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Small (25 x 19) \/ Silver","offer_id":49073651417323,"sku":"1980612","price":195.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Small (25 x 19) \/ Dark Bronze","offer_id":49073651450091,"sku":"1980613","price":195.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Medium (31 x 22) \/ Gold","offer_id":49073651482859,"sku":"1980621","price":295.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Medium (31 x 22) \/ Silver","offer_id":49073651515627,"sku":"1980622","price":295.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Medium (31 x 22) \/ Dark Bronze","offer_id":49073651548395,"sku":"1980623","price":295.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Large (43 x 30) \/ Gold","offer_id":49073651581163,"sku":"1980631","price":495.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Large (43 x 30) \/ Silver","offer_id":49073651613931,"sku":"1980632","price":495.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Large (43 x 30) \/ Dark Bronze","offer_id":49073651646699,"sku":"1980633","price":495.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Estate (55 x 38) \/ Gold","offer_id":49073651679467,"sku":"1980641","price":995.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Estate (55 x 38) \/ Silver","offer_id":49073651712235,"sku":"1980642","price":995.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Estate (55 x 38) \/ Dark Bronze","offer_id":49073651745003,"sku":"1980643","price":995.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0762\/8606\/6923\/files\/elizabeth_blackwell__rosemary_a_curious_herbal_page_159__small__gold.jpg?v=1784501947","url":"https:\/\/canvasclassics.shop\/products\/elizabeth_blackwell__rosemary_a_curious_herbal_page_159","provider":"Canvas Classics","version":"1.0","type":"link"}