Vintage Botanical Illustrations: Two Varieties of Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
― William Wordsworth Longfellow, I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

Two varieties of daffodils: “Sir Watkin” (top) and “Paper White” (bottom); both botanical illustrations from c1896. You can download the images above as 3" x 4" @ 300 ppi JPEGs here and here. Great for collage, graphic design, junk journal, scrapbooking or stamping projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative works. Not for resale "as-is." Credit to FieldandGarden.com appreciated but not required.

Printable Vintage Art: Botanical Illustration of Lilium auratum (Golden-Rayed Lily)

Lilium auratum, 1862
by Louis van Houtte (1810–1876)
Lilium auratum (山百合, yamayuri, literally “mountain lily”) is one of the true lilies. It is native to Japan and is sometimes called the golden-rayed lily or the goldband lily.

The Englishman who was the earliest collector of lily bulbs in Japan was arguably young John Gould Veitch of Veitch Nurseries, and in 1862 he sent to England the golden rayed lily, L. auratum, which became touted as the “aristocrat of lilies”. It was allegedly in 1867 that a man named John Joshua Jarmain operating from Yokohama became the first commercial exporter of Japanese lilies, though the species of lily is not clarified. The mint exporter Samuel Cocking of Yokohama also exported lilies from the early 1800s, presumably of the L. auratum species, which is the local prefectural flower [ja] of Kanagawa Prefecture. Isaac Bunting, another purveyor of plants offered L. auratum for sale, as seen in his 1885 catalog. [Source: Wikipedia.]

You can download the antique botanical illustration above as a high-res 6” x 9” @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Public domain, colours digitally enhanced.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Botanical Illustrations: Varieties of Violas and Pansies

“Sometimes,” he sighed, “I think the things I remember
are more real than the things I see.”
― Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

If you cannot hold me in your arms, then hold my memory in high regard.
And if I cannot be in your life, then at least let me live in your heart.
― Ranata Suzuki
While violas and pansies are often confused for each other, they are actually distinct members of the Violaceae family. The most obvious distinction is the size of the flowers. Violas generally have smaller, more delicate blooms than their pansy counterparts. Throughout history, these flowers have been used as symbols of innocence, humility, modesty, fidelity, remembrance, grief, faithfulness, and virtue.

You can download the four botanical illustrations above in one 8" x 8" @ 300 ppi JPEG here. Great for graphic design, junk journal, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative works. Not for resale "as-is." Credit to FieldandGarden.com appreciated but not required.

Vintage Botanical Illustrations: Collection of Single Roses, 1897

SET 1
(1) THE COPPER AUSTRIAN BRIAR.
The true "Eglantine" of Linnaeus and Redouté. A very choice kind of single rose, which will grow in light warm soil.
(2) ROSEA LUTEA.
The Eglanteria of Linnaeus, an indispensable rose for hybriding. Is the original wild rose of the Austrian briars. Hot sandy soil.
(3) ROSA KAMTSCHATICA.
A good hedge rose. Grows freely.

SET 2
(1) ROSA CANINA GALLICA.
A garden variety of the English dog rose and French rose. Suitable for shrubberies.
(2)ROSA BRACTEABER, from which the Macartney rose was derived. Useful for covering walls with a south and west aspect. The flowers occur singly, but are very large.
(3) ROSA SPINASISSIMA V. GRANDIFLORA. Burnet or Scotch rose. Sandy soil.

SET 3
(1) PAUL'S "Carmine Rose."
A good pillar rose. Grows freely.
(2) ROSA RUGOSA.
The Japanese Ramanas rose for beds and shrubberies, equally beautiful in autumn for its large scarlet fruit and tinted leaves.
(3) ROSA MOSCHATA V. BRUNONII.
A form of musk-rose. Vigorous, for large buildings, trunks of trees, etc., requires space; blooms freely.
(4) ROSA POMIERA.
This is a garden rose grown for the large bright fruit.

SET 4
(1) HYBRID PERPETIAL ROSE "Crown Prince."
(2) NOISETTE ROSE "Madame P. Cochet."

Four sets of rose illustrations from an article published May 15, 1897. You can download these graphics as three 8.5" x 11" @ 300 ppi JPEGs (Sets 1-3) and one 11" x 8 @ 300 ppi JPEG (Set 4) here. Good for graphic design, junk journal, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative works. Not for resale "as-is." Credit to FieldandGarden.com appreciated but not required.

Printable Vintage Art: Botanical Illustration of Lonicera reticulata (Grape Honeysuckle)

Lonicera reticulata (commonly known as grape honeysuckle), 1868
by Abraham Jacobus Wendel (1826–1915)
You can download the antique botanical illustration above as a high-res 4" x 5" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Public domain, colours digitally enhanced.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Botanical Illustration & Nature Poem for Altered Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: A Grungy Honeysuckle and Illustrated Letter H

Maybe that's what it all comes down to.
Love, not as a surge of passion,
but as a choice to commit to something, someone,
no matter what obstacles or temptations stand in the way.
And maybe making that choice, again and again,
day in and day out, year after year,
says more about love than never having a choice to make at all.
― Emily Giffin, Love the One You're With

Honeysuckle is an ancient plant, with references to this fragrant vine found in Greek mythology. [1] It derives its name from the edible sweet nectar obtainable from its tubular flowers. The name Lonicera stems from Adam Lonicer, a Renaissance botanist. [2]

There are hundreds of species of honeysuckle, most being native to Europe and Asia. Much like clematis, is likes to have cool feet and a sunny top — that is, roots in the shade and sun on the leaves. [3]

It is the favorite food of hummingbirds far and wide, and has been a cornerstone of medicine in many ancient cultures. In ancient China, the honeysuckle was widely revered as a cure-all. Adding to their historical importance, the honeysuckle also has some heavy symbolism attached to it. In its plainest form, the honeysuckle is a symbol of pure happiness, sweetness and affection. At its heaviest interpretation, the honeysuckle represents the flames of love, and the tenderness for love that has been lost. [4] The honeysuckle is also used in many magic spells, [5] and is believed to attract abundance and prosperity. [6]

Above, you will see a somewhat grungy, vintage black and white illustration of a branch of honeysuckle from 1897. At the bottom right of this illustration, I have included an illustrated letter "H". You can download these graphics in one 8" x 10" @ 300 ppi JPEG here. Good for altered art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Vintage Botanical Illustration & Nature Poem for Altered Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Yellow Rose 2

Antique illustration from The Botanical Magazine of Fortune's Double Yellow rose showing prickles, thorns and bowing stems, as well as flowers being pale in colour, unrecognizable in shape, and hardly likely, in Graham Thomas's words, "to make people blink even today".

Accompanying the yellow rose illustration, you can find a nature poem, simply titled "To Rose" that was written by William T. Saward and published in 1897.

You can download the public domain poem as a high-res 6" x 6" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. The vintage botanical illustration can be downloaded as a high-res 6" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEG here. Good for altered art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Altered Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Chamomile 2

Calmness is the rarest quality in human life.
It is the poise of a great nature, in harmony with itself and its ideals.
It is the moral atmosphere of a life self-centred, self-reliant, and self-controlled.
Calmness is singleness of purpose, absolute confidence, and conscious power,
ready to be focused in an instant to meet any crisis.
― William Jordan, The Majesty of Calmness

Antique botanical illustration showing all forms of Matricaria chamomilla from 1887. Chamomile (American English) or camomile (British English is the common name for several daisy-like plants of the family Asteraceae. Two of the species, Matricaria chamomilla and Chamaemelum nobile, are commonly used to make herbal infusions for beverages.[1]

The fresh plant is strongly and agreeably aromatic, with a distinct scent of apples...(it) never fails to lift the spirits with its sweet apple-scented leaves. In Tudor times, camomile lawns were popular. As the ladies swept along with their heavy skirts, the pretty daisy-like flowers would release their delicate aroma. In fact, in the Middle Ages it was purposely planted in green walks in gardens. Interestingly, walking over the plant seems especially beneficial to it.

Frances A. Bardswell’s Herb Garden (1911) states that chamomile has a remarkable effect on other plants and calls it the “plant’s physician”. It is thought to have the amazing power to heal other sickly plants. Chamomile plants and flowers are said to improve the growth and health of nearby plants.[2]

You can download this vintage botanical illustration as a free high-res 8" x 11" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Simply print and frame for wall art or incorporate into altered art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Chamomile 1

When you can no longer count the peaceful moments in your day,
and life becomes a wonderful place of clear thoughts and calm.
You know things are as right as they should be.
― Ron Baratono

Antique botanical illustration showing a pot of Matricaria inodoria from late 1890s. Matricaria is a genus of flowering plants in the chamomile tribe within the sunflower family. They are hardy, pleasantly aromatic annuals, growing along roadsides in ruderal communities and in fallow land rich in nutrients. Though many are considered nuisance weeds, they are suitable for rock gardens and herb gardens, and as border plants.[1]

The word chamomile is derived via French and Latin, from the Greek χαμαίμηλον, khamaimēlon, 'earth apple', from χαμαί, khamai, 'on the ground', and μῆλον, mēlon, 'apple'.First used in the 13th century, the spelling chamomile corresponds to the Latin chamomilla and the Greek chamaimelon. The spelling camomile is a British derivation from the French.[2]

You can download this vintage botanical illustration as a free high-res 5" x 4" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Bouvardia 'Alfred Neuner'

It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something
that makes a life worth living.
― Oliver Wendell Holmes

Enthusiasm spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.
― Norman Vincent Peale

Botanical illustration from late 1890s showing Bouvardia 'Alfred Neuner,' a flowering shrub with double, white flowers slightly tinged with rose. Encyclopaedia description also lists other varieties such as BRILLIANT, DAZZLER, HOGARTH, LONGIFLORA FLAMMEA, MAIDEN'S BLUSH, PRESIDENT GARFIELD, QUEEN OF ROSES, and VREELAND.

Bouvardia is a species that enjoys full sun and is attractive to hummingbirds. The genus is named in honor of Charles Bouvard (1572–1658), physician to Louis XIII, and superintendent of the Jardin du Roi in Paris. In the language of flowers, Bouvardia symbolize enthusiasm.

You can download this vintage botanical illustration as a free high-res 5" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Lilies 2

Don't let the expectations and opinions of other people affect your decisions.
It's your life, not theirs. Do what matters most to you;
do what makes you feel alive and happy.
Don't let the expectations and ideas of others limit who you are.
If you let others tell you who you are, you are living their reality — not yours.
There is more to life than pleasing people.
There is much more to life than following others' prescribed path.
There is so much more to life than what you experience right now.
You need to decide who you are for yourself. Become a whole being. Adventure.
― Roy T. Bennett

Botanical illustration of eight lilies. Lilies are numbered as follows: Topmost lily (5); second row left (2), second row right (3); centre left (6), centre middle (1), centre right (4); bottom left (7), bottom right (5).

You can download this vintage botanical illustration as a free high-res 9" x 12" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Lilies 1

Write it on your heart you are the most beautiful soul of the Universe.
Realize it, honor it and celebrate the life.
― Amit Ray, Nonviolence: The Transforming Power

To think what is true, to sense what is beautiful and to want what is good,
hereby the spirit finds purpose of a life in reason.
― Johann Gottfried Herder

Botanical illustration of four lilies. From the top, first lily on the left is Lilium japonicum or Japan Lily; second lily (on the right) in Lilium lanceolatum or the Lanceolate-leaved Lily; third lily down (on the left) is Lilium speciosum or the Showy Lily; last lily on the bottom right is Lilium thunbergianum or Thunberg's Lily.You can read more detailed descriptions below:

You can download this vintage botanical illustration as a free high-res 9" x 12" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustrations for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Wild Clover Varieties, 1886

When one tugs at a single thing in nature,
he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
― John Muir

Four black and white illustrations of different varieties of wild clover, originally published in an 1886 book. From left to right in the preview picture, these are: Trifolium Stoloniferum, Trifolium Involucratum, Trifolium fucatum and finally, Trifolium megacepilalum.

You can download these botanical illustrations as free high-res 6" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEGs without a watermark here, here, here, and here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Common Garden Tulips 1

Nothing retains its original form, but Nature, the goddess of all renewal,
keeps altering one shape into another.
Nothing at all in the world can perish, you have to believe me;
things merely vary and change their appearance.
What we call birth is merely becoming a different entity;
what we call death is ceasing to be the same. Though the parts may possibly shift
their position from here to there, the wholeness in nature is constant.
― Ovid, Metamorphoses

You can download this botanical illustration of common garden tulips as a free high-res 8.5" x 11" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Spring Bulbs 4 (The Narcissus Pt. 2)

Would you like some warm Spring pie?
Then, take a cup of clear blue sky.
Stir in buzzes from a bee,
Add the laughter of a tree.

A dash of sunlight should suffice
To give the dew a hint of spice.
Mix with berries, plump and sweet.
Top with fluffy clouds, and eat!
― Paul Kortepeter, Holly Pond Hill: A Child's Book of Easter
The botanical illustration above shows a group of flowers from the Amaryllidacea family, consisting of (1) variety of Polyanthus Narcissus, (2) also variety of Polyanthus Narcissus, (3) Self-Coloured Rush Daffodil, (4) variety of Sweet-scented Narcissus or Great Jonquil, (5) the Poet's Narcissus, and (6) Narcissus viridiflora.

From the book, here are the original descriptions:

You can download the botanical illustration as a free high-res 5" x 7" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Spring Bulbs 3 (The Narcissus)

Is it so small a thing
To have enjoy'd the sun,
To have liv'd light in the spring,
To have lov'd, to have thought, to have done;
To have advanc'd true friends, and beat down baffling foes...?
― Matthew Arnold, Empedocles On Etna And Other Poems
The botanical illustration above shows a group of flowers from the Amaryllidacea family, consisting of (1) the Great Spanish White Daffodil, hardy with showy flowers, (2) Mr. Sabine's Daffodil, a very distinct species, (3) the Conspicuous Narcissus, a native of the Pyrenees, (4) the Nonsuch Daffodil, or Butter and Eggs, (5) the White Mountain Daffodil, one of the most beautiful narcissi, (6) Three-anthered Rush Daffodil, a native of Portugal and the south of France, (7) the Jonquil, a garden favourite for its fragrance and profusion of flowers, and (8) Narcissus gracilis, so long a common fixture in British gardens its origin is lost.

From the book, here are the original descriptions:

You can download the botanical illustration as a free high-res 5" x 7" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Spring Bulbs 2 (The Ismene and Others)

sweet spring is your
time is my time is our
time for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love

(all the merry little birds are
flying in the floating in the
very spirits singing in
are winging in the blossoming)

lovers go and lovers come
awandering awondering
but any two are perfectly
alone there's nobody else alive

(such a sky and such a sun
i never knew and neither did you
and everybody never breathed
quite so many kinds of yes)

not a tree can count his leaves
each herself by opening
but shining who by thousands mean
only one amazing thing

(secretly adoring shyly
tiny winging darting floating
merry in the blossoming
always joyful selves are singing)

sweet spring is your
time is my time is our
time for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love
― e. e. cummings, Collected Poems
The botanical illustration above shows a trio of flowers from the Amaryllidacea family, consisting of (1) Peruvian Amancaes, a daffodil-like flower first brought to England in 1804; (2) the Common Sea Daffodil, a mainstay in British gardens for centuries; and (3) Hymenocallis, a name signifying "beautiful membrane," an aquatic plant from Mexico.

From the book, here are the original descriptions:

You can download the botanical illustration as a free high-res 5" x 7" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Spring Bulbs 1 (The Snowflake)

In Our Woods, Sometimes a Rare Music
Every spring
I hear the thrush singing
in the glowing woods
he is only passing through.
His voice is deep,
then he lifts it until it seems
to fall from the sky.
I am thrilled.
I am grateful.

Then, by the end of morning,
he's gone, nothing but silence
out of the tree
where he rested for a night.
And this I find acceptable.
Not enough is a poor life.
But too much is, well, too much.
Imagine Verdi or Mahler
every day, all day.
It would exhaust anyone.
― Mary Oliver, A Thousand Mornings: Poems

The botanical illustration above shows a cluster of flowers from the Amaryllidacea family, consisting of (1) the Spring Snowflake or St. Agnes'-flower; (2) the Snowflake or Summer Snowflake, whose botanical name is derived from two Greek words signifying "a white violet"; (3) Narrow-leaved Snowflake or Autumn-flowering Snowflake; (4) the Rose-coloured Acis; (5) Cape Crocus: its botanical name is said to derive from the Greek word meaning "to rejoice."

From the book, here are the original descriptions:

You can download the botanical illustration as a free high-res 5" x 7" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Clipart: Three Grandest New Plants, 1896

Three grandest new plants for only 30 cents (as featured in the Mayflower Horticulture magazine from May 1896). From left to right, you have:

THE BRIDAL ROSE: A remarkable plant with leaves resembling a Rose in shape; its flowers are produced during winter, and as as double as a Peony and almost as large. Color pure white, and when a plant one or two feet high shows a score or more of these enormous flowers, which they often do, the sight is a most novel and attractive one. New and little known. Will create a sensation anywhere, for it is one of the most remarkably showy plants in cultivation, and should be in every collection.

NEW DWARF CALLA LITTLE GEM: All that need be said about this sterling novelty is that it is a perfect miniature Calla, growing 8 or 12 inches high and producing perpetually very large snow-white blossoms. It begins to bloom when only a few inches high in a three or four inch pot, and a well-established plant in a large pot is never without flowers, summer or winter, and sometimes shows a dozen at once. The greatest plant novelty of late years and yet the sensation of the day. Our stock is TRUE, and this is a rare opportunity for our readers to get one at little cost.

RUDBECKIA LACINIATA GOLDEN GLOW: Offered this year for the first time. A hardy perennial plant growing eight feet high, branching freely, and bearing by the hundreds, on long, graceful stems, exquisite double blossoms of the brightest golden color and large as Cactus Dahlias. The cut represents a plant in bloom, as photographed. Mr. William Falconer, the best authority on plants in this country, says of it: "When I saw the double-flowering form of Rudbeckia Laciniate in bloom in your grounds at Floral Park, in summer last year, I was amazed, for notwithstanding my long and intimate acquaintance with plants I had never before seen a double-flowered Rudbeckia; and I was delighted with the fullness and gorgeousness of the blossoms and their clear, bright yellow color. You gave me a plant last spring and it was set out in good garden ground. It grew vigorously and threw up strong branching flower stems six feet high, laden with sheaves of golden blossoms as large as fair Chrysanthemums, and all having an elegant, graceful appearance, without any stiffness in habit or blossom. Many eminent florists and amateurs have seen it here, and all admired it. As cut flowers, the blossoms last well. In fine, I unhesitatingly regard it as the most desirable introduction among hardy perennials since we got Clematis Paniculate."

You can download the vintage ad above as a high-res 8" x 8" @ 300 ppi JPEG here.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Flower Illustration for Collage Art, Papercrafts, Scrapbooking or Wall Art: The Butterfly and the Rose 1

To love at all is to be vulnerable.
Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken.
If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal.
Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements.
Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.
But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change.
It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.
To love is to be vulnerable.
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

An antique botanical illustration showing a butterfly on a stalk of pink cabbage roses (Provence rose, Rosa x centiflora). The engraving was done by Langlois after a drawing by Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759 - 1840).

The form of Rosa centiflora portrayed by Redouté in this print is a triumph of the hybridiser's art; of its kind, it is surely near perfection. It is not surprising that Centiflora roses came to be identified with the so-called Queen of Roses cultivated by the Greeks and Romans. This notion is romantic, but informed opinion now belives it to be mistaken. Rosa centiflora is thought to be a complex hybrid of four species known in western Europe in the late sixteenth century, which was evolved pver a period of about a hundred and thirty years and perfected in the early eighteenth century. The four species involved were Rosa rubra (the Apothecary's Rose or Rose of Provins), Rosa phoenicea (the Damask Rose or Crusaders' Rose), Rosa moschata (the Musk Rose) and Rosa canina (the Dog Rose).
[Source: Eve and Norman Robson, Plants (London: Studio Editions, 1990), p.84]

Download and print for wall art or to use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects. You can find the free high-res 8" x 11" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.

Below, you can see how I have paired the above botanical illustration with a vintage piece of French sheet music called "Le Papillon et La Rose." You can find the high-res JPEG of the sheet music here.

If you would like to download the combined illustration and sheet music image, you can find the high-res JPEG here.

From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.