The Medlar Tree (Mespilus) – Original Hand-Colored Engraving by Elisabeth Blackwell

This refined botanical engraving presents The Medlar Tree, depicting a fruit-bearing branch with measured clarity and understated visual authority, balancing foliage, fruit, and stem in a composed and intelligible arrangement.

The composition is articulated with careful restraint: broad, softly veined leaves frame the rounded fruits, allowing each element to be read distinctly. Elisabeth Blackwell’s approach emphasizes structural accuracy and botanical legibility, while preserving a quiet elegance grounded in direct observation rather than embellishment.

Created in the early eighteenth century, this plate forms part of A Curious Herbal, a foundational medical and botanical work notable for its unified authorship, in which drawing, copper engraving, and hand-colouring were all executed by the same hand.

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Visual and Aesthetic Analysis

The composition develops vertically along a central stem, punctuated by large leaves that create a calm, rhythmic progression across the sheet. The fruits introduce points of visual weight, counterbalancing the upward movement of the branch and anchoring the image.

Subtle tonal gradations model both foliage and fruit with depth and softness, avoiding strong contrasts. The restrained palette reinforces the engraving’s documentary function while maintaining a harmonious and composed visual presence.

About the Subject

The medlar (Mespilus) occupied a particular place in early European medicine and horticulture, valued primarily for its fruit. Unlike many cultivated fruits, medlars were traditionally consumed only after a period of softening, a distinctive characteristic well known to early practitioners and gardeners. As a result, accurate depiction of the fruiting stage was essential in medical and botanical reference works. Its inclusion in A Curious Herbal reflects the importance of documenting not only medicinal plants, but also fruit-bearing species whose identification and use depended on visual recognition at specific stages of maturity.

Condition Report

The engraving is in exceptionally fine antique condition, printed on original handmade laid paper typical of early 18th-century botanical publications. No watermark has been observed. The sheet remains fresh and clean, with a stable surface and no notable defects. The original hand-colouring is well preserved, and the impression is crisp and legible throughout. These qualities correspond to a “like brand new” state of preservation and confirm the authenticity of the print as an original production from A Curious Herbal. The engraved credit “Eliz. Blackwell delin. sculp. et pinx.” is present and fully legible, attesting that the drawing, engraving, and hand-colouring were executed by Elisabeth Blackwell herself.

Details

• Artist: Elisabeth Blackwell
• Work / Publication: A Curious Herbal
• Period: 1737–1739
• Technique: Original copper engraving, drawn, engraved, and hand-colored by Elisabeth Blackwell
• Paper: Original handmade laid paper
• Watermark: None observed
• Sheet size: approx. 37 × 22 cm

For further context on Elisabeth Blackwell and the singular unity of authorship behind A Curious Herbal, see our editorial feature:

Elisabeth Blackwell – A Curious Herbal