Curtis's Botanical Magazine

Curtis's Botanical Magazine

"The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed" is an illustrated publication which began in 1787, in London. It is usually referred to as "Curtis's Botanical Magazine". Many plants were first described and illustrated in this remarkable publication. The plates were well-regarded for their fine detail and delicate hand-colouring. They were intended to complement the text, which facilitated the identification by a general reader. The magazine has been considered to be the premier journal for early botanical illustration. The hand-colouring of the plates was very labour intensive. However, this tradition was continued until 1948, after which a photomechanical process was initiated. There was a name change to the "Kew Magazine" from 1984 t0 1994. In 1995 the name reverted to "Curtis's Botanical Magazine" and it continues to be published by the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, for those interested in horticulture, ecology and botanical illustration.