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Globe flower
John Miller, born 1715 - died 1794 - Enlarge image
Globe flower
- Object:
Print
- Place of origin:
Great Britain, UK (printed and published)
- Date:
1770-1777 (published)
- Artist/Maker:
John Miller, born 1715 - died 1794 (artist)
- Materials and Techniques:
Engraving, coloured by hand
- Museum number:
E.48-1892
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F, case TOPIC, shelf DP, box 3
Miller's book, An Illustration to the Sexual System of Linnaeus (1770-7), was an attempt to explain and promote the system of classification devised by the famous botanist Carl Linnaeus. This was based on the number and relation of the reproductive parts of flowers. The book was published in various combinations of plates, coloured and uncoloured. This is one of several proof plates, printed before the lettering was added. Miller's publication gives in a single plate a complete account of the plant's habit, structure and life cycle. Linnaeus himself praised the illustrations extravagantly as 'the most beautiful and accurate . . . since the beginning of the world'.
