A Pomological Watercolor — Antique Botanical Print

The Story in the Margin

The word 'pomological' comes from pomology, the branch of botany devoted to fruit and its cultivation, and this watercolor belongs to the USDA's landmark Pomological Watercolor Collection, painted between 1886 and 1942 to document American fruit varieties with scientific accuracy. Government artists worked directly from fresh specimens, often samples mailed in from orchards and USDA plant explorers overseas, rendering each fruit's true color, shape, and texture long before color photography could do the job reliably. Now held by the National Agricultural Library, the roughly 7,500 surviving paintings are prized today both as botanical science and as a strikingly detailed record of American agricultural history.

Materials & origin

• Material: 200 gsm gallery-grade, acid-free fine-art paper (FSC-certified).
• Print: Archival giclée, 12-colour printing, smooth matte finish for glare-free display.
• Artwork: Restored from a public-domain original; colour and detail digitally cleaned for large-format print.
• Origin: Made on demand and shipped from the print hub nearest you, cutting transit and waste.
• Framing: Sold unframed; ships rolled in a protective tube.