Creator(s)	Sharp & Son, lithographer.
Contributor(s)	Allen, John Fisk, artist. Sharp, William, 1803-1875, artist. Dutton and Wentworth, publisher.
Title	[Victoria Regia : complete bloom]
Link to library catalog	http://catalog.bostonathenaeum.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=420668
Date created	1854.
Publishing details	Boston : Published by Dutton & Wentworth ; Dorchester : Sharp & Son, Chromolithd.,
Physical Description	1 print : chromolithograph ; image 38 x 53.4 cm., sheet 55.9 x 73.6 cm.
Wall Label	One of the first practical uses of chromolithography was the illustration of new scientific findings, particularly in the realm of natural history. Scientists embraced the new medium because of its ability to convey the nuances of color found in the natural world. One botanist noted that the former use of black-and-white imagery had caused “great errors.” William Sharp (1803—1875), a leader in early Boston chromolithography, was already known for his botanical illustrations when he created six folio prints of the great Amazon water lily, “Victoria Regia,” for a portfolio by botanist John Fiske Allen. The plant had been cultivated by seed first in England and then in Philadelphia and Salem, Massachusetts. The mammoth size of the plant provoked wide-spread interest, and the portfolio received considerable attention in the local newspapers. One journalist praised Sharp’s “beautiful work... and the admirable style of the cromoliths [sic], which, for beauty of coloring exceed any specimens in this style of art we have yet seen.... It may justly be regarded as a work of art.” Modern critics have concurred with this verdict, and today Sharp’s plates for Victoria Regia are universally acknowledged to be masterpieces of color printing.
Summary	Plate 5 in "Victoria Regia" the Great Water Lily of America" by John Fisk Allen, Boston, 1854. Plate shows the full bloom of the Victoria Regia surrounded by other buds and leaves.
Notes	Exhibited in "Chromo-Mania! The Art of Chromolithography in Boston, 1840-1910." held at the Boston Athenaeum, September 28, 2012 - January 12, 2013. Checklist #14.
Local notes	N.E.H.A.S., July 1950. #1950.7.
Subject	Water lilies--Pictorial works.
Genre terms	Chromolithographs--United States--1850-1860.
Link to Exhibit Page	http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/chromo-mania-the-art-of-chromolithography-in-boston-1840-1910
Location/Call number	Prints and Photographs Dept. (Appointment required) * D JU 1854.d
Source	Victoria Regia plate 5.tif
Rights	Collection of the Boston Athenaeum. May not be reproduced or quoted without written permission. For more information, see http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/node/46