Umbelliferae (Buphorum rotundifolium, Lo.)

Nature printing creates a direct imprint of the object rather than a drawn representation. The lead plate receives the plant’s outline, which can be used as a printing matrix or electrotyped by depositing copper onto a mould in a copper‑sulphate bath. The two inks were applied to the same plate by the à la poupée method, using small dabbers; the colours merge at their edges, and under magnification faint black ink appears on some leaf surfaces.

The image reproduces a pressed specimen of a wild Umbelliferae species, presenting the plant in a flattened, herbarium‑like form. Unlike conventional botanical illustration, the print lacks shading or three‑dimensional illusion, emphasizing the plant’s actual texture and outline.

Henry Bradbury (1829–1860) introduced nature printing to Britain after studying the process with Alois Auer at the Imperial Printing Office in Vienna. Bradbury’s 1854 volume demonstrated the method’s capacity for fine detail, and the present print was issued that same year by Bradbury & Evans.

Nature printing emerged in the mid‑19th century as a response to the demand for accurate botanical reproductions. The technique offered a level of fidelity that traditional engraving could not achieve, aligning with contemporary scientific interests in precise documentation of plant forms.