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In the early 1800s, Robert Sweet produced The Florist’s Guide and Cultivator’s Directory or drawings of the choicest Florists flowers, which contained a large number of hand-colored botanical engravings. The work was published in London by James Ridgeway between 1827 and 1832. It featured engravings after Edwin Dalton Smith which were engraved by J. Watts and printed on fine woven, watermarked paper.
Robert Sweet received early training as a gardener, and utilized this skill to become a foremost name in the horticultural world. Florist’s Guide, originally published as a periodical, featured some of the most favored botanical illustrations including engravings of showy auriculas, striking tulips, and elegant roses.
Following is a list of English Florists’ tulips then in existence and illustrated in the Florist's Guide, all of which subsequently have become extinct. Only the hand-colored engravings survive to reveal the beauty of these lost tulips. This is an example of the need to preserve the English Florists' tulips being raised today.
The following hand-colored engravings were photographed and are included here courtesy of Trillium Antique Prints and Rare Books.
Captions: Upper Right: Alexandrina Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Alexandrina. Left Rose Galatea Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Rosea. Click images for larger versions.
Aglaia Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Aglaiana
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Albion Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. albionensis
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Alexandrina Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Alexandrina
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Bartlett's Thunderbolt Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. fulminea
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Bataille D'Eyleau Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. sanguifera
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Bonaparte Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Bonaparteana
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Burnard's Agitator Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Burnardiana
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Burnard's Emancipator Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. emancipate
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Caledonian Hero Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Caledonica
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Daveyana Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Daveyana
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Davey's Trafalgar Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. marginata
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
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Don Miguel Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. Migueli
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
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George theFourth Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Georgii
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Gloria Alborum Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. albida
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Gloria Mundi Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. gloriosa
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
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Goldham's Earl of Liverpool Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. Jenkinsoni
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Goldham's Maria Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Maria
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Grande Monarque Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. augusta
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Holmes's King Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Holmesiana
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
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Lady of the Lake Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. virginea
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Lampson Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Lampsoniana
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Lancashire Hero Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Lancastriensis
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Lawrance's La Joie Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. laetifica
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
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Lawrence's Polyphemus Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. Polyphemi
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Lord Brougham Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Broughami
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Lord Collingwood Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Collingwoodii
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Lord Hill Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Hilliana
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Lord Holland Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Hollandiana
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Louis XVI Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Ludoviana
This image depicts both a feather and flame.
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
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Penelope Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Penelopeana
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Platonia Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. platyantha
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Pompe Funebre Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. pulchella
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Prince George Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Georgii
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Prince Leopold Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Leopoldi
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Princess Charlotte's Cenotaph Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Charlotteana
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Pucelle D'Orleans Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. puella
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Rose Bacchus Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Bacchusii
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Rose Brillante Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. fulgens
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
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Rose Camusa de Craix Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. purpureo-rosea
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Rose Daphne Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Daphneana
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Rose Galatea Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Rosea
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
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Rose Juno Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Juno
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Semplon Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Semploniensis
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Sir George Duckett Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Duckettiana
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Strong's Canning Tulip -- Tulipa Gesneriana var. Canningiana
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Strong's Dutchess of Kent Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. principassae
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Strong's Esther Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Estheriana
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Strong's High Admiral Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. Strongii
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Strong's King Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. regia
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
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Strong's Rainbow Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. iridiflora
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Titian Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Titiana
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Violet a Belle Forme Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. pulchella
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Violet Alexandre Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Alexandri
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La Virginiti Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. virginita
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Walworth Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. retusa
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Willmer's Duke of York Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Fredericiana
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Winefred Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Winefrediana
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