Curtis Botanical – Plate 8024 – Shire Coleus

Original antique black-and-white botanical print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 8024.

Plant: Coleus Shirensis (Shire Coleus). Native to: Malawi (Shire Highlands).

Collected from the Shire Highlands of what is now Malawi — a region named for the Shire River, which David Livingstone navigated on his Central African expeditions. The coleus genus has been a decorative staple from Victorian bedding schemes to contemporary houseplant culture.

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 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.