Louis Van Houtte

Louis Van Houtte 1810-1876

Louis van Houtte was a Belgian horticulturist. He was the founder, publisher and part-editor of a lavish Belgian periodical "Flore des Serres et des Jardins de l'Europe", which comprised more than 2,000 coloured plates, published from 1845 to 1883, some being published after his death. He was the proprietor of the largest nursery of its time in Europe, covering 14 hectares and containing fifty greenhouses. He had his own printing office in the middle of the gardens. All the plants shown were for sale in the nursery. The publication is notable for the craftsmanship of the lithographers Severeyns, Stroobant and de Pannemaker who had mastered the art of chromolithography. Plates had some hand-coloured finishing.