Louis Van Houtte's "Flore des Serres et des Jardins de L'Europe" or "The Gardens of Europe" gorgeous botanical prints from 1845-1875

Flore des Serres et des Jardins de L'Europe
Louis van Houtte and Charles Lemaire, editors
Ghent, Belgium (1845-1883)

Gorgeous multi-stone color lithographs with some handcoloring.
Fold-out "double" plates measure approximately 9.5 x 13 inches (approx. 24 x 33 cm)
Single plates measure approximately 6.5 x 9.5 inches (approx. 16.5 x 24 cm)

Louis Benoit van Houtte, Belgian horticulturist, was born at Ypres on June 29, 1810, and died at Ghent May 9, 1876. He was associated with the Jardin Botanique de Brussels from 1836 to 1838. In 1839, after an expedition to Brazil, he went to Ghent where he founded the Ecole d'Horticulture and the horticultural journal Flore des serres et des Jardins de l'Europe. Flore des serres was an extensive work with over 2000 colored plates. It contained 23 volumes published from 1845 to 1883, some coming out after his death.

He also established a nursery there with managing partner the nurseryman Adolf Papeleu. Van Houtte's knowledge of botany, his commercial aptitude and language skills made the Establishment Van Houtte very successful. About 1845 he began sending out plant collectors to bring back orchids and other exotic plants from South and Central America. His company propagated many plants for European greenhouses. The first Victoria to be cultivated on the Continent grew there in a specially built greenhouse and the first confirmed water lily hybrid, N. Ortgiesiano-rubra, was created there by Eduard Ortgies. By 1870 Van Houtte owned the most flourishing nursery in Belgium, with an area of 14 hectares and 50 greenhouses. After he died in 1876 his son continued the business.

Louis Benoit van Houtte

Please click on a thumbnail to see most of the plate (the fold-out doubles are too large for a complete scan).
Please note: the enlarged scans tend to look darker than the actual print. The paper is generally much brighter than what appears on the scan.
These are truly gorgeous prints and the scans do not do them justice!

BELOW ARE THE FOLD-OUT "DOUBLE PRINTS" FROM Flore des Serres et des Jardins de L'Europe
WITH ORIGINAL CENTER FOLDS, AS ISSUED.

(click here for "single" plates)