Victoria Regia; or The Great Water Lily of America - photo 1
Victoria Regia; or The Great Water Lily of America - photo 2
Victoria Regia; or The Great Water Lily of America - photo 3
Victoria Regia; or The Great Water Lily of America - photo 4

Victoria Regia; or The Great Water Lily of America

Lot 229
26.05.2022 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 35 280
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 752909
Lot 229 | Victoria Regia; or The Great Water Lily of America
Estimate value
$ 20 000 – 30 000
Victoria Regia; or The Great Water Lily of AmericaJohn Fisk Allen and William Sharp, 1854ALLEN, John Fisk (1807-1876) and William SHARP, lithographer (1803-1875). Victoria Regia; or The Great Water Lily of America. With a Brief Account of its Discovery and Introduction into Cultivation. Boston: printed and published for the author by Dutton & Wentworth, 1854.A masterpiece of color lithography, Allen's rare work on the giant lilies of the Amazon river. "In the large water lily plates of Victoria Regia, Sharp printed colors with a delicacy of execution and technical brilliance never before achieved in the United States" (Stamped with a National Character).From the beginnings of chromolithography, which appeared in France and England around 1835, William Sharp was one of the very first to try this technique and is credited with bringing it to America in 1839. He emigrated from England and settled as a lithographer in Boston; it was there that he particularly developed the process and was one of its pioneers. In 1854 the publication of the Great Water Lily plates was completed; in order to obtain the most accurate color possible, four lithographic stones were used for each plate. This concern for execution makes them count among the most beautiful chromolithographs ever made in America.The giant water lilies, discovered along the banks of the Amazon, had already been the subject of three books, published in England: Victoria Regia by John Lindley (1837), Description of the Victoria Regia (1847) by William Jackson Hooker, and Victoria Regia, or Illustrations of the Royal Water Lily (1851) by Walter Hood Fitch. In order to describe as accurately as possible the growth and flowering of this extraordinary plant, John Fisk Allen, horticulturist and already author of a renowned book on viticulture, sowed a seed in his own garden in Salem and carefully followed its development from January to July 1853. The long-awaited plant finally bloomed on July 21, offering an impressive spectacle lasting several hours which he describes in detail in this work. "In this series of plates the gigantic flower seems to open cinematographically before our very eyes ...". Nissen BBI 16; Great Flower Books (1990) p.69; Pritzel 104; Hunt Printmaking in the Service of Botany 56; Oak Spring Flora 106; Stamped with a National Character 19; Stafleu & Cowan TL2, 85.Broadsheet folio (690 x 546mm). 6 chromolithographed plates by William Sharp (some dustsoiling and a little toning/freckling, pl. 5 with a small area with surface adhesions). Original printed boards (neatly rebacked with cloth, rubbed, slightly warped with old dampstain, minor soiling to endleaves). Custom solander box. Provenance: Massachusetts Horticultural Society (bookplate with withdrawal stamp, a few pencil markings on title).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
26.05.2022 – 26.05.2022
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>