Curtis Botanical – Plate 6328 – Boxall's Blue Vanda / Blue Orchid

Original antique black-and-white print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 6328.

The most famous blue flower in the orchid world — and arguably the most coveted orchid of the Victorian era. When Boxall first collected it in Burma in 1870s, orchid collectors literally stripped entire hillsides bare — thousands of plants shipped to England, most dying en route.

The most famous orchid in the collection.

Uncolored plate. Condition consistent with age of volume. Each print is a unique piece of botanical history, printed on paper aged over a century.

This plate originated with the Royal Horticultural Society and passed through Wheldon & Wesley, one of the great natural history dealers of the 20th century. We came into the archive by accident and have spent the time since trying to share it as widely as we can.