Vilmorin, the Vegetable GArden

Turn your kitchen into an art galleryMouthwatering ready-to-frame prints of 19th century French gardenvegetablesThe French company Vilmorin-Andrieux & Cie arose in the 18th century fromthe collaboration of Philippe Victoire de Vilmorin—a grain and plantmerchant and connoisseur—and his father-in-law, Pierre Andrieux,Botanist to the King. The Vilmorins, though only producers and merchants onthe Paris market, contributed enormously to the botanical and agronomicknowledge of their time. Their first catalogue, comprising all kinds ofseeds for kitchen-garden vegetables—including legumes, salad plants,flower seeds and bulbs—appeared in 1766. It was followed by a seriesof Publications peariodiques in which the quality of botanical andhorticultural information was equaled only by the illustrations. By themid-19th century, the firm had become the most important seed company inthe world—active in production, trade, and scientific advances,thanks largely to Louis de Vilmorin's crucial research into selection andheredity in the 1850s. At the height of its international renown, the company published itssplendid Album Vilmorin. Les Plantes potagčres (The Vegetable Garden,1850-1895) featuring 46 magnificent color plates. The Vilmorins employedsome 15 painters to create this work of agro-botanic iconography; most hadtrained as artist-naturalists at the Jardin des Plantes, the former RoyalGardens, including Elisa Champin, who painted a large number of the finestplates. These illustrations—reproduced here with exquisite care andaccuracy—transcend mere artistic interest, beautiful as they are;they are also a valuable resource for anyone researching cultivarietalevolution, and old varieties of fruits and vegetables.