Banks' Florilegium, Part XIV Australia, list of Plates 293 - 315, Family, Species and Banksian names
Publisher
Alecto Historical Editions
Date1983
Object number00032849
NameList
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 737 x 573 mm
Copyright© Natural History Museum, London
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Dr and Mrs Eric and Margaret Schiller
DescriptionA list of plates from 'Banks' Florilegium, Part XIV Australia, Plates 293 - 315'. This edition was published by Alecto Historical Editions and the British Museum (Natural History) in 1983.
This list is for plates 293 - 315 and covers the Family and Species of Santalaceae (Plates 293 - 295), Eurphorbiaceae (Plates 296 - 311), Ulmaceae (Plate 312), Urticaceae (Plate 313) and Orchidaceae (Plates 314 - 315). The Banksian names are also listed.
HistoryOne of the greatest achievementsof the voyage of the ENDEAVOUR (1768-1771 ) was the extensive collection of botanical specimens that had been assembled by Sir Joseph Banks. Gathered on shore expeditions, after returning to ship they were drawn quickly by the artist Sydney Parkinson, and scientifically classified by Banks. While the specimens survived shipwreck at Endeavour Reef, Parkinson died in Batavia.
Banks's intention had been to publish the botanical results of the voyage but after only a few plates were engraved, he seems to have realised the scale of the undertaking and it came to a halt. Only in our own era was a decision made to bring the project to fruition, and in one of the great feats of publishing, Alecto Editions issued the entire Florilegiumin a limited number of parts in the 1980's .
The Australian National Maritime Museum holds the Australian component of the collection, consisting of 337 prints in fifteen folios. These are the results of Banks's collecting on the east coast of the continent, particularly at Botany Bay and Endeavour River.
This page lists the 22 Australian plates (293 - 315) in the folio under the headings Santalaceae (Plates 293 - 295), Eurphorbiaceae (Plates 296 - 311), Ulmaceae (Plate 312), Urticaceae (Plate 313) and Orchidaceae (Plates 314 - 315). The Banksian names are also listed.SignificanceOne of the greatest achievements of the voyage of the ENDEAVOUR (1768-1771) was the extensive collection of botanical specimens that had been assembled by Sir Joseph Banks. Gathered on shore expeditions, after returning to ship they were drawn quickly by the artist Sydney Parkinson, and scientifically classified by Banks.
Despite his best efforts, the Florilegium was not published in Bank's lifetime and only appeared in a very limited edition 200 years later.