Each plate from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine is more than a picture of a flower — it’s a fragment of a living history that spans over two centuries. These works began life in the 18th and 19th centuries under Reeve & Co., meticulously printed and then finished by hand-coloring studios whose artists spent hours layering pigments to capture the exact blush of a rose or the subtle green in a lily’s stem. Unlike modern reproductions, these prints passed through a remarkable chain of custodians: the Royal Horticultural Society, the H.M. Stationery Office, and venerable UK libraries like Hull and Liverpool, before entering the commercial art world through legendary dealers such as Wheldon & Wesley. Many were stored for decades, untouched — some partially colored proofs, others fully finished masterworks — until they were rediscovered and carefully preserved. In an age before color photography, these plates were the definitive botanical records, studied by scientists and admired by gardeners. The skill involved in their creation — lithography, precise engraving, and delicate hand coloring — makes each one a miniature masterpiece.