Modern Illustrations, By Catherine Wardrop & Lesley Elkan

At the National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, two scientific illustrators maintain an age-old tradition; creating  accurate drawings to accompany taxonomic descriptions of the plants. Aiming to highlight all of the distinctive features of a species in one illustration or ‘plate’, Lesley Elkan and Catherine Wardrop sometimes use fresh plant material, but more often have to reimagine a life-like looking plant from dried, pressed specimens from the herbarium. They piece together broken parts, correct angles and omit damage to draw a full life cycle to scale, aiming to create a perfect visual representation of the plant’s description.

Taxonomic illustration is usually published in scientific journals as highly detailed black and white drawings primarily undertaken in pen and ink, more rarely in pencil. Although the specifications of botanical illustration are strict, these selected works display a fascinating diversity of interpretation and aesthetic expression while keeping absolute scientific accuracy at their core.

IMPORTANT Antique reproduction note: Please note that the works in this collection have been faithfully reproduced from the originals and therefore reflect the antique paper and aged condition of the original.There may be slight age marks, pencil notations, imperfect lines and Royal Botanic Garden verification stamps on the some works that form part of the historic botanical illustration. Many of these works have not been seen before and this collection presents the opportunity to own an authentic piece of botanical illustration history that's unique to Sydney. Printed using the highest quality archival paper and inks which should allow for a life of 100 years plus if cared for properly. Please allow 25 working days for delivery.

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