Books that represent botanical prints often make beautiful coffee table books. Well, 'Spring and Winter Flowering Bulbs of the Cape' is no exception. The botanical artist Barbara Jeppe, now deceased provided the watercolour drawings for this 1989 publication from Oxford University Press, with text by Graham Duncan. I acquired this book (free) at an estate sale earlier this year. What a special find indeed! The print colours, textures, and shapes are remarkable, very true to plants found in habitat.
Barbara, the artist criss-crossed the Western Cape, and Namaqualand seeking specimens for illustration, as well as material in private collections, and those of Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town, RSA. She was surely a Maven of botanical art in South Africa. Her legacy is being continued by her daughter Leigh Voight.
Below are a mix of her extraordinary drawings.
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| Daubenya and Androcymbium |
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| Massonia sp. |
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| Lachenalia sp. |
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| Geissorhiza sp. |
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| Ixia and Tritonia |
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| Moraea sp. |
What a great find. Looking forward to seeing these in real life.
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