Anne Pratt Botanicals

Anne Pratt (1806 – 1893) was one of most well known botanical illustrators of the Victorian era. Born in Strood, Kent in 1806, she suffered from ill health as a child which restricted her from leaving the home ? to occupy herself she was encouraged to take up drawing. Under the influence of Dr. Dods, a family friend, she became interested in botanical illustrations.

At the age of 20 she became a professional book illustrator specialising in botanical pictures. In a career spanning five decades she wrote over 20 books illustrated with chromolithographs made from her drawings. She wrote in a ‘popular style’ and depicted each flower and plant accurately. As a result she was responsible for the popularising of botany in Britain. Her fine illustrations were a common sight in the school classrooms of the period. It is regrettable that she never achieved the critical acclaim she richly deserved on the grounds that she was self taught.