Curtis Botanical – Plate 8838 – Ethiopian Pavetta / Abyssinian Bride's Bush

Original antique black-and-white print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 8838.

A coffee-family shrub from Ethiopia and the East African highlands bearing masses of tiny white star-shaped flowers — the genus Pavetta takes its name from the Sinhalese word for the plant. The coffee family (Rubiaceae) also gave us quinine (from cinchona bark), gardenia, and ixora.

Ethiopian and East African heritage communities in Chicago.

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 is an original uncolored (plain) plate from leftover publisher stock of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, printed in London. It was issued uncolored and never bound. We bought the holding at the estate of a Chicago rare bookseller. Labels and stock papers from the British dealer Wheldon & Wesley came with it. Library stamps, when present, are noted on the listing.