a collection of botanical watercolors, william roxburgh (1751-1815)

A collection of fine images from the major work on the flora of India, Roxburgh's 'Plants of the Coast of Coromandel'. A lavish work published over a 25-year period, depicting the plants life-size.

Born in Scotland, William Roxburgh pursued medical studies at Edinburgh University before embarking on multiple voyages as a surgeon’s mate aboard East Indiamen,  chartered East India Company ships by European trading companies. His travels eventually led him to Madras in 1776, where he assumed the role of assistant surgeon. Alongside his medical duties, he developed a keen interest in the plant life of the Carnatic, a region stretching between the Eastern Ghats and the Coromandel Coast. His botanical investigations intensified over the following years as he relocated—first to Nagore in 1779, and later, in 1782, to Samalkot, an isolated settlement roughly 200 miles north of Madras, surrounded by a diverse and abundant ecosystem. Roxburgh spent over a decade there, closely examining the area’s vegetation, before assuming leadership of the Calcutta Botanic Garden in 1793, a post he held until stepping down in 1814.

Even before formally taking on the role of botanist for the East India Company, Roxburgh was deeply committed to botanical documentation. For several years, he retained an artist to produce precise illustrations of various plant species, supplementing these depictions with extensive notes on their characteristics and applications. In 1791, he submitted the first series of these works to the Court of Directors of the East India Company, who subsequently forwarded them to Sir Joseph Banks, the influential naturalist and scientific advisor. Impressed by Roxburgh’s research, Banks gave his official approval for its continuation on July 4, 1794. The editorial process was largely overseen by Jonas Dryander, Banks’s librarian, who later honored Roxburgh’s contributions by naming the genus Roxburghia after him. The defining species of this genus, Roxburghia gloriosoides, remains a testament to his lasting influence in the field of botany.