From Nature to Paper

                Vintage botanical prints include a lot images. Their ranges vary from flowers and leaves of different species.  With the use of pen and ink, vintage botanical prints are given life on blank papers. Some are plain without color but some are painted beautifully especially with flowers on vases. Done with the inspiration of nature and the environment, these vintage botanical prints are great for accessorizing homes or spaces. Copying is a very important element in drawing these prints. And the sepia tone each image brings is a character of its being vintage. The technique of Lithograph is also a way of doing vintage botanical prints. Not only does the drawings or illustrations matter but also the information drawn on these prints. Some have even their scientific names and parts of the plant for information.

            Lithography is a technique in printing using plate, stone or the mentioned pen and ink on a smooth surface. It was invented in 1798 and it is one of the earliest discovered processes in print making. With lithograph, details of the plant and animals are depicted. It also gives a smooth finish on the image. The technique helps in the visibility of these elements and parts of the plant. The technique gives vintage botanical prints a clearer depiction of parts that can be studied. In this process, it uses chemical ways to create the images. Repulsion of oil and water is done. And designs are done with a greasy ink or crayon on the smooth surface.

            Many images of vintage botanical prints are done in this process or technique. On the earlier days two colors were only used but as it developed as a technique, more colors were used to depict images. Later on, these images are still preserved with a distinct character of yellowish or black and white color. Many prints during the old times were produced because of this technique. Mass production of images was possible because I can be directly copied from one image to many others with this technology. And with this process, many of the vintage images were still preserved with proper care, storage and handling. Science and nature was never this interesting and chemically imaged with the process of lithography.

            Drawing the vintage prints was carefully and scientifically done through this technique. With its invention, life for some vintage artists and collectors was easier and more consistent. Although it was mass produced, the process gave a distinct character in the process of doing the prints. The colors maybe important but more than this, drawing the prints showed a great artistry in imaging details on plants. There were no computers or scanners during those times but with the technology of the human hand and mind, buds and margins on plants were beautifully and scientifically portrayed on the images. It was not only the images that made these even more interesting, it was the pleasure of viewing and the knowledge it brings with the labels of the parts or the identification of flower or plant species.