Books often contain unexpected treasures. In February this year, we received a kind donation of two sets of gardening books, which were exactly the kind of publication that the Head Gardener at Winterbourne might have been consulting back in 1904. Opening these volumes offers a burst of colour in the form of beautiful colour plates.

The Gardener’s Assistant

‘The Gardener’s Assistant: A Practical and Scientific Exposition of the Art of Gardening in all its Branches’ by Robert Thompson, was first published in 1859 and remained in print until 1913. Robert Thompson, the editor, was employed in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society in Chiswick. Our set of four volumes dates from 1902. Alongside numerous line drawings, the books were illustrated in colour by a variety of artists. 

Some of these colour plates bear signatures. Louis Fairfax Muckley, a Birmingham artist, was responsible for some stunning images, including this one of aubergines.

Louis Fairfax Muckley was a member of a Birmingham group of painters associated with the Arts & Crafts movement. He was influenced by Edward Burne-Jones, who was himself from Birmingham. Muckley probably met Burne-Jones while he was studying at the Birmingham School of Art. It’s tempting to imagine that the Nettlefolds themselves might have known Louis Fairfax Muckley. They certainly would have seen his work in exhibitions and might have owned books illustrated by him as well.

Visit our ‘Much is Lost, Much Remains’ exhibition

One exciting colour plate features an orchid named after Margaret Nettlefold’s uncle Joseph Chamberlain. Joe, who is famous for his stint as Mayor of Birmingham in the 1870s and his subsequent career as a national politician, was a passionate collector of orchids. Cypripedium Chamberlainianum (the central bloom in this image) was discovered in Sumatra in 1892 by Wilhelm Micholitz, who named it after Chamberlain. The book containing this plate is on display in our exhibition ‘Much is Lost, Much Remains’ on the top floor until October 2026.

The Fruit Grower’s Guide

‘The Fruit Grower’s Guide’ by John Wright was published in the 1880s. It, too, is full of vibrant chromolithographs. In this case, the artist was a woman. May Rivers, born in 1862, was part of a family business, the Rivers Nursery. This Nursery was founded in 1725 and traded until the 1980s. In the late 19^th century, May Rivers illustrated all the new fruit cultivars that the Nursery supplied, and she was also employed to illustrate ‘The Fruit Grower’s Guide’. 

May’s work combines botanical accuracy with beauty. Looking at these illustrations – we can almost smell the fruit!

Henrietta Lockhart
Curator