Antique Meadow Crane's-bill Botanical Print | Geranium pratense | F. Edward Hulme

This antique botanical print depicts Meadow Crane's-bill (Geranium pratense), a striking wildflower of the geranium family, and is taken from Familiar Wild Flowers, the renowned natural history publication by Reverend F. Edward Hulme. Dating to the late Victorian or early Edwardian period, this period print is approximately 120–135 years old and represents a fine example of Victorian botanical illustration and colour printing.

Meadow Crane's-bill is one of the distinctive wild geraniums of the British countryside, recognised by its large violet-blue flowers and deeply divided foliage. It grows naturally in meadows, grasslands, woodland margins and along hedgerows, flowering through the summer months. Its vivid blooms and elegant structure have also made it a popular ornamental plant.

The illustration reflects the Victorian passion for observing, documenting and classifying the natural world. Hulme's botanical publications combined careful attention to botanical form with the decorative qualities of colour illustration, allowing readers to study individual species while also appreciating their visual beauty.

Familiar Wild Flowers belongs to a period when advances in colour printing were transforming natural history publishing. Botanical subjects that had previously been accessible primarily through specialist texts could now be reproduced in detailed colour and brought into domestic interiors, creating a fascinating intersection between scientific illustration, natural history and decorative art.

Sourced from Delhi, this antique botanical print is presented unframed but professionally mounted, making it ready for display or for framing according to the collector's preference. Its age, delicate botanical detail and restrained decorative quality make it particularly suited to collections of antique botanical prints, Victorian art, natural history and vintage interiors.

More than a century after its publication, this Meadow Crane's-bill illustration remains a beautiful document of Britain's native flora and of the Victorian fascination with recording the natural world through art and print.

Details

Subject: Meadow Crane's-bill (Geranium pratense)
Illustrator / Author: Reverend F. Edward Hulme
Publication: Familiar Wild Flowers
Period: Late Victorian / Early Edwardian
Age: Approximately 120–135 years
Medium: Antique botanical print
Origin: Sourced from Delhi
Tradition: Victorian botanical illustration and natural history publishing
Mount: Professionally mounted; unframed
Dimensions including mount: H 10 × L 7 in
Condition: Antique condition with age-related characteristics. Please refer to the photographs, which form an integral part of the description.
Authenticity: Comes with an authenticity certificate from The Blue Trunk.