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The artist and illustrator responsible for almost all of the plates in the Botanical Magazine at this time, was Sydenham Edwards (1768-1819), whose first work appeared in the second volume (1787), was the first full-time artist to work for the Botanical Magazine. Curtis, who had seen samples of his work, invited him to come from his home in Wales to London to serve as an
apprentice on the new publication. Curtis trained him in botany and botanical illustration, and Edwards later accompanied Curtis on many botanical expeditions, becoming his close and inseparable companion. Edwards continued as the sole artist until 1815, when a disagreement with Dr. Sims, Curtis's successor as Editor, caused him to leave the Magazine and with James Ridgeway, set up The Botanical Register, in competition. Wilfred Blunt praises Edwards
drawings for their "remarkable finish and accuracy" and for their "unlabored simplicity of execution [and] clearness of color." |
