Pomona
Brittanica; or, a collection of the most esteemed fruits at present
cultivated in this country.
London: T. Bensley for the author, published by
White, Cochrane and Co., E. Lloyd and W. Lindsell, [1804-]1812.
Large folio aquatints with stipple engraving by Brookshaw, printed in
colors and hand-colored
The Pomona marked the re-emergence of
George Brookshaw into the public eye after a total disappearance of
nearly a decade. A successful cabinetmaker with the patronage of the
Prince of Wales, Brookshaw suddenly disappeared from view in the
mid-1790's. The historian Lucy Wood suggests that he vanished following
some still-unknown financial or sexual scandal, and attributes a number
of subsequent works by G. Brown to Brookshaw in hiding.
The Pomona was first issued in parts
from 1804-1808 and is probably Brookshaw's first public resumption of
his own name, and the first example of his new work as a botanical
artist. The first complete edition was published in 1812 and was
dedicated to the Prince Regent. Many of the specimens were taken from
the Royal Gardens at Hampton Court and Kensington Gardens, among other
great British gardens. This magnificent and stylistically unique work
took Brookshaw nearly ten years to produce. Sadly, Brookshaw's work
seems to have been ignored by the eminent botanists of his day, and
Brookshaw died in relative poverty and obscurity in 1823.
Brookshaw's Pomona is considered
(along with Thornton's Temple of Flora) to be the finest British
botanical work from a time when Britain "...dominated the field
with a very large number of great books" (Buchanan, Nature Into
Art). His illustrations make excellent use of the rich, modulated tones
that the aquatint process creates. The elegantly arranged and richly
colored fruits emerge from deep brown backgrounds or float on a softly
mottled light ground, creating a presence unlike that of any other
botanical illustration. Brookshaw asserts in the Preface that the Pomona
Brittanica is an enduring work created "for succeeding
generations" to enjoy and learn from. The beauty and uniqueness of
his illustrations guarantees the lasting value of this most exceptional
work.
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