Nature Print of Moonwort and Adder's Tongue Ferns, plate 51 from The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland (1855): Artwork and History

Nature Print of Moonwort and Adder's Tongue Ferns, plate 51 from The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland (1855) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Henry Bradbury English, 1829-1860.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

Moving beyond mezzotint’s reproductive capabilities, Henry Bradbury used botanical specimens impressed into lead for his lifelike prints of plants. The matrix was electroplated, inked in multiple colors, and printed. This image comes from Bradbury’s most famous publication, but the impression may have been printed separately, as it lists his name prominently. Although Bradbury adjusted the technique, he did not invent it. Alois Auer and Andreas Worring had in fact discovered it in Vienna in 1852, but Bradbury neglected to mention them when he patented his version. The ensuing controversy may have contributed to Bradbury’s suicide by poisoned soda water in London’s Cremorne Gardens.

Object facts

• Title: Nature Print of Moonwort and Adder's Tongue Ferns, plate 51 from The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland
• Date: 1855
• Artist attribution: Henry Bradbury English, 1829-1860
• Place of origin: England
• Medium: Nature printing, from an electrotyped lead plate, inked à la poupée, on off-white wove paper
• Dimensions: Sheet: 55.5 × 37 cm (21 7/8 × 14 5/8 in.)
• Type: Print
• Department: Prints and Drawings
• Reference number: 1961.383

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. Troy M. Corrence

View the original

Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.