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C1814
Antiaris macrophylla.
Artist:
Ferdinand Bauer (1760 - 1826)
Exceptionally rare and historically important botanical illustration of the Antiaris tree, from Matthew Flinders account of his voyage to Terra Australis. Here offered in the superior and rarest deluxe issue. The deluxe issue of the Flinder’s atlas, has the botanical … Read Full Description
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Details
Full Title:
Antiaris macrophylla.
Date:
C1814
Artist:
Ferdinand Bauer (1760 - 1826)
Condition:
In good condition. Sheet edges with minor chips and perforations on left hand side from original stitching.
Technique:
Copper engraving.
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1814
Description:
Exceptionally rare and historically important botanical illustration of the Antiaris tree, from Matthew Flinders account of his voyage to Terra Australis.
Here offered in the superior and rarest deluxe issue. The deluxe issue of the Flinder’s atlas, has the botanical illustrations unfolded and with untrimmed wide margins as issued. In comparison, the standard issue of the atlas, the botanical plates are found folded multiple times, to accomodate being reduced to a quarto size and the margins are extensively trimmed.
Robert Brown the naturalist on the expedition can be called ‘The Father of Australian botany’, for his effort in collecting over 3,900 specimens, of which 140 genera were new to science. Brown’s specimens and Prodromus published in 1810 formed the foundation for George Betham’s Flora Australiensis (1863-1878).
He collected this plant in the Northern Territory in February 1803, he wrote;
‘In barren stony places, on the shores of Companys Islands, adjacent to Arnhems Land … in about 12S.lat. ..”
Brown’s collecting while in Australian waters-Northern Territory
13–28 December The area of Sir Edward Pellew Group, Gulf of Carpentaria.
14 December Landed at Vanderlin Island (Island g).
15 December Off Urquhart Islet (h2). The untraced Island g3 is in this area and Island g4 is Jolly Islet and Island g6 is Small Islet.
16 December Off Cabbage Tree Cove, North Island (Island h). Island h4 in this vicinity is also untraced (it might be David Islet) and whether Brown landed on Centre Island (Island hh) also remains unclear — there are plants from there, but they may have been gathered by others. Observation Island (Island h3) visited, see Vallance (1990: 73–74) for summary.
19 December Off Wheatley Island (Island g2).
20 December At E. Entrance to channel between North and Centre Islands.
22 December Off Cabbage Tree Cove, North Island again.
31 December–1 January 1803 Maria Island (Island l), Gulf of Carpentaria.
4 January Malagayangu District, Arnhem Land. Carpentaria Main opposite Groote Eyland of the plant labels. It appears only Flinders went to Bickerton Island (Island n)
5–17 January Groote Eylandt and vicinity. For example:
14 January Cavern or Chasm Island, off Groote Eylandt.
16 January Winchelsea Island (Island p) visited by Bauer, Good, and Allen.
18 January Bustard Island (Island q1).
19 January–1 February Blue Mud Bay, Arnhem Land.
20 January Morgans Island (Island s).
26 January Cape Shield (Point T).
2–11 February Caledon Bay, Arnhem Land area. Arnhem/ Arnheim South Bay of Brown’s plant labels and other writings.
3 February Anchorage at Grays Bay.
13–17 February Nhulunbury/Gove area, Melville Bay, Arnhem Land. Arnhem/Arnheim North Bay of the plant labels.
13 February Anchorage at Gove Harbour.
17–27 February At the English Company Islands: Wigram Island (Island y), Pobassoo Island (Island y2), Brown ashore on 18 February, Cotton Island (Island y1), Astell Island (Island y3) and Inglis Island (Island z) visited by the naturalists..
17 February Off S. Point of Cotton Island.
23 February Off N.E. pont of Inglis Island. Natualists collect here and at Bosanquet Island (Island z4).
28 February–5 March Arnhem Bay area (North Coast Bay No 3 of Brown’s usage).
28 February Off Mallinson Island (Island ), Brown collected here.
2 March Off an island known as Y2, Brown collected here.
4 March Off Everett Island (Island 1 ), Brown collected here, others collected at Low Island and Hardy island (Island 2 ) and on the nearby mainland (Y3).
12 March New Year Island, only Peter Good collected.
Modern common Antiaris (Aust.), Ipoh Tree (The town of Ipoh in Perak province, Malaysia is named after the tree & as used as poison for arrow tips)
Modern binomial name  Franklandia fucifolia R.Br
First described Robert Brown 1810 Â ‘In barren stony places, on the shores of Companys Islands, adjacent to Arnhems Land … in about 12S.lat. … February 1803’
Distribution Northern Territory, QLD and widespread in Asia and Pacific.
From Flinders,Voyage to Terra Australis,
Artist:
Ferdinand Bauer (1760-1826)
Bauer was a botanical artist born in Austria, the son of Lukas Bauer, court painter to the Prince of Liechtenstein. Orphaned next year, the brothers later came to the notice of a priest, Norbert Boccius, who encouraged them in botanical drawing and commissioned Ferdinand, when only 15, to paint a large number of highly finished flower studies.
In about 1780 the brothers moved to Vienna where they met Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin, then working on his Icones Plantarum Rariorum, 1-3 (Vienna 1781-93). He employed Ferdinand and his brother Franz in illustrating this work. This experience and training determined their future. When Professor John Sibthorpe of Oxford visited Vienna he was so impressed by Ferdinand’s work that he engaged him as his natural history painter; they left Vienna in 1786 and travelled widely in the Mediterranean before going to England at the end of 1787.
In 1800 Sir Joseph Banks arranged for Ferdinand Bauer to join the expedition of Matthew Flinders in the Investigator to Terra Australis. Bauer worked closely with Robert Brown the naturalist and together they collected and illustrated thousands of plants. By August 1803 Bauer had made 1000 drawings of plants and 200 of animals before returning to England in 1805. By then Bauer had made 2073 drawings, of which some 1540 drawings were of Australian plants and the remainder of plants from Norfolk Island, Timor and the Cape.
