Banks' Florilegium Part I, Australia, plates 1 - 22
Publisher
Alecto Historical Editions
Date1980
Object number00032517
NameTitle page
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
DescriptionThe title page for 'Banks' Florilegium' published by Alecto Historical Editions in association with the British Museum (Natural History) in 1980. Part I, Australia, plates 1-22.
The full text reads "Banks' Florilegium, a publication in thirty-four parts of seven hundred and thirty-eight copperplate engravings of plants collected on Captain James Cook's first voyage round the world in HMS ENDEAVOUR 1768-1771. The specimens were gathered and classified by The Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart., K.B., P.C., P.R.S., and Dr Daniel Solander, F.R.S. and were accurately engraved between 1771 and 1784 after drawings taken from nature by Sydney Parkinson. Part I Australia plates 1-22 published by Alecto Historical Editions in association with The British Museum (Natural History) London MCMLXXX".HistoryOne of the greatest achievements of the voyage of HMB ENDEAVOUR (1768-1771) was the extensive collection of botanical specimens that had been assembled by 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 Florilegium in a limited number of parts in the 1980's.
The Australian National Museum holds the Australian component of the collection, consisting of 337 prints in fifteen folios. Here are the results of Banks's collecting on the east coast of the continent, particularly at Botany Bay and Endeavour River where the expedition woudl spend the most time as repairs to the vessel were carried out .
Joseph Banks and his party gathered 30,300 specimens of plants representing 3607 species, 1400 of which were then unknown to science.SignificanceJoseph Banks was a wealthy member of the English upper class whose passion for botany and adventure saw him pay his own way on Cook's HMB ENDEAVOUR, along with eight staff. A prolific writer and enthusiastic collector Banks and his team compiled approximately 3,000 plant specimens on the journey.