Image of the Day: Mid-Century Pursuits

This image of a crown imperial flower (Fritillaria imperialis L.) is one of 60 colorless plant canvasses in an 18th century coloring book.

Written byThe Scientist
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Fritillaria imperialis L.

PETER H. RAVEN LIBRARY/MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN

Amy Pool, a botanist at the Missouri Botanical Garden stumbled upon an antique coloring book while researching another rare book in the garden’s library. According to its title page, The Florist by Robert Sayer, published in 1760, was “intended for the use & amusement of gentlemen and ladies delighting in that art,” Pool tells The Scientist in an email.

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