Sir John Hill (1714-1775) - The Vegetable System

Sir John Hill (1714–1775)
Botanical plate from The Vegetable System
England, 1759–1775.
Original etching printed on paper and hand-colored at the time, from the original pages of the monumental work The Vegetable System by Sir John Hill.
The plate depicts several botanical species, illustrated according to the criteria of Linnaean nomenclature, adopted by Hill among the earliest in the British context.
At the bottom there is the Latin signature “I. Hill delin. et sculp.” (I. Hill drew and engraved), which attests to the direct execution of the drawing and the engraving by the author.
The Vegetable System was published between 1759 and 1775 in 26 volumes in folio, consisting of about 1,600 copperplate engravings. Hand-colored copies were offered at a significantly higher cost than the black-and-white ones and are today rarer and more sought after.
Sir John Hill, botanist, author and illustrator, in recognition of his works was knighted as a Knight of the Order of Vasa in 1774 by King Gustav III of Sweden.