Lastrea Filix-Mas, (Pseudo-Mas of Wollas…

Fine botanical engraving of a fern by Edward Joseph Lowe.

Lowe was a botanist and meteorologist whose private income allowed him to
pursue his passionate interest in ferns at a time when there was also
widespread public interest in the collecting and growing of the family:
‘ferneries’ were a feature of many a fashionable garden.

The beautiful plates were produced using a complicated printing process
which allowed for the accurate alignment of multiple wood-engraved
blocks to produce crisp clear outlines and luminous colours. They are
the work of the master of this process: Benjamin Fawcett (1808-1893),
working from originals by his long-time employee Alexander Francis Lydon
(1836-1917).

From Lowe’s, Our Native Ferns.

Reference: Nissen: 1243, p.114