Curtis Botanical – Plate 7140 – Danford's Iris

Original antique black-and-white botanical print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 7140.

Plant: Iris Danfordiae (Danford's Iris). Native to: Turkey / Lebanon (Taurus Mountains). Birth flower: February.

Named for Mrs. C.G. Danford — one of the few women plant collectors credited by name in Victorian botany. A dwarf iris that blooms brilliant yellow in late winter, often pushing through snow. In Victorian flower language: faith, hope, and wisdom.

Printed in London. Each print is an original page removed from a bound volume of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, the world's oldest continuously published botanical journal (founded 1787). Uncolored plate. Sold individually. Minor age-related toning consistent with 19th-century paper.

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.