Flower Paintings of Katherine Saunders

Dustcover over green rexine boards with gilt vignette to front board, and gilt lettering to spine.

The name of Katharine Saunders is familiar to all botanists who have used the Flora Capensis (v.Glossary) in which she is cited as having contributed 119 species of Natal plants to Kew Herbarium. In these citations her name is given as Mrs.K.Saunders, Mrs. Saunders or as K.Saunders. Twelve species, including seven orchids were named after her, the epithets being either Saundersiae or Katharineae. Three species were named after her son, Charles and one other after his wife, Maud.

Katharine's main interest was not in plant collecting but in plant illustration. Fortunately about sixteen folios, containing about 700 of her floral paintings, have survived. Eleven folios are in the library of Amanzimnyama, the Headquarters of The Tongaat Group Limited and five are now in the possession of the Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg.

Katharine did not number the specimens she collected and does not seem to have kept duplicates. It was her habit, however, to make notes and comments, usually in lead pencil, either below or behind her paintings. In most cases, these notes do give the names, the dates and the localities from where the specimens were obtained, as well as other details. Very often she also made a few rough pencil sketches of flower parts and dissections. Some of the pencil notes and sketches are now barely legible, but with careful study it been possible to decipher practically all the notes. Those which belong to the 147 paintings reproduced in 106 plates in this volume are given in inverted commas in the captions accompanying the plates. The pencil sketches of details of flower structure are mostly faint and not always in a suitable condition for reproduction.

Half-Title, Frontispiece, Title, Preface, Contents, Plants Named in Honour of Katharine Saunders and Members of her family, Katharine Sanders and Natal Botany. 343 pages text with supporting colour plates and illustrations, data and information.

Very clean copy.