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
Click image for a larger version.

Albion Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. albionensis
Click image for a larger version.

Alexandrina Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Alexandrina
Click image for a larger version.

Bartlett's Thunderbolt Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. fulminea
Click image for a larger version.

Bataille D'Eyleau Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. sanguifera
Click image for a larger version.

Bonaparte Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Bonaparteana
Click image for a larger version.

Burnard's Agitator Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Burnardiana
Click image for a larger version.

Burnard's Emancipator Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. emancipate
Click image for a larger version.

Caledonian Hero Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Caledonica
Click image for a larger version.

Daveyana Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Daveyana
Click image for a larger version.

Davey's Trafalgar Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. marginata
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
Click image for a larger version.

Don Miguel Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. Migueli
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.

Click image for a larger version.

George theFourth Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Georgii
Click image for a larger version.

Gloria Alborum Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. albida
Click image for a larger version.

Gloria Mundi Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. gloriosa
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
Click image for a larger version.

Goldham's Earl of Liverpool Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. Jenkinsoni
Click image for a larger version.

Goldham's Maria Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Maria
Click image for a larger version.

Grande Monarque Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. augusta
Click image for a larger version.

Holmes's King Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Holmesiana
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
Click image for a larger version.

Lady of the Lake Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. virginea
Click image for a larger version.

Lampson Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Lampsoniana
Click image for a larger version.

Lancashire Hero Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Lancastriensis
Click image for a larger version.

Lawrance's La Joie Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. laetifica
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
Click image for a larger version.

Lawrence's Polyphemus Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. Polyphemi
Click image for a larger version.

Lord Brougham Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Broughami
Click image for a larger version.

Lord Collingwood Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Collingwoodii
Click image for a larger version.

Lord Hill Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Hilliana
Click image for a larger version.

Lord Holland Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Hollandiana
Click image for a larger version.

Louis XVI Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Ludoviana This image depicts both a feather and flame.
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
Click image for a larger version.

Penelope Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Penelopeana
Click image for a larger version.

Platonia Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. platyantha
Click image for a larger version.

Pompe Funebre Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. pulchella
Click image for a larger version.

Prince George Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Georgii
Click image for a larger version.

Prince Leopold Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Leopoldi
Click image for a larger version.

Princess Charlotte's Cenotaph Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Charlotteana
Click image for a larger version.

Pucelle D'Orleans Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. puella
Click image for a larger version.

Rose Bacchus Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Bacchusii
Click image for a larger version.

Rose Brillante Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. fulgens
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
Click image for a larger version.

Rose Camusa de Craix Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. purpureo-rosea
Click image for a larger version.

Rose Daphne Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Daphneana
Click image for a larger version.

Rose Galatea Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Rosea This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
Click image for a larger version.

Rose Juno Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Juno
Click image for a larger version.

Semplon Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Semploniensis
Click image for a larger version.

Sir George Duckett Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Duckettiana
Click image for a larger version.

Strong's Canning Tulip -- Tulipa Gesneriana var. Canningiana
Click image for a larger version.

Strong's Dutchess of Kent Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. principassae
Click image for a larger version.

Strong's Esther Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Estheriana
Click image for a larger version.

Strong's High Admiral Tulip - Tulipa Gesnariana var. Strongii ">
Click image for a larger version.

Strong's King Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. regia
This engraving is in the collection of Hortus Tulipus.
Click image for a larger version.

Strong's Rainbow Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. iridiflora
Click image for a larger version.

Titian Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Titiana
Click image for a larger version.

Violet a Belle Forme Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. pulchella
Click image for a larger version.

Violet Alexandre Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Alexandri
Click image for a larger version.

La Virginiti Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. virginita
Click image for a larger version.

Walworth Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. retusa
Click image for a larger version.

Willmer's Duke of York Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Fredericiana
Click image for a larger version.

Winefred Tulip - Tulipa Gesneriana var. Winefrediana
Click image for a larger version.

	Top			Link to this page