Flora and Fauna: Nineteenth Century Colour Printing

This exhibit features Nineteenth Century Colour Printing of Flora and Fauna. Studying herbs, plants, animals, birds, eggs, and collecting them was a widely sought-out practice in 19th Century England. Several of the books featured include female authors such as Anne Pratt who was a botanical and ornithological illustrator from Kent. Although Edmund Evans and Benjamin Fawcett had their own cases in the exhibit as they focused mainly on printing and designing art relating to the natural realm, this exhibit also includes artists and engravers: Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, Elizabeth Twining, F. O. Morris, G. Pearson, William Dickes, Harrison Weir, T. and A. Constable, and John Absolon. Since the Robertson Davies library and Massey College's program focus mainly on the print and material culture of books, the primary focus of this exhibit is on the production of images. Some are woodcut prints, other chromolithographs. The main focus is on the artists, printers, and engravers, rather than the authors and content matter. The theme of "Flora and Fauna" was chosen to add a cohesive structure to the artists presented.