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Macclesfield (Mary Parker, Countess) Botanical
Album
mssHM 84100
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield, botanical album
Creator:
Macclesfield, Mary Parker, Countess of, approximately
1726-1812
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 84100
Physical Description:
0.83 Linear Feet
(1 volume, accompanying material)
Date (inclusive): 1756-1767
Abstract: A botanical album containing 48
watercolor paintings created by Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield, in the 18th
century.
Language of Material: Materials are in English and
Latin.
RESTRICTED. Available with curatorial approval. Requires extended retrieval and delivery
time. Please view digital surrogate.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield, botanical album, The
Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased for the Huntington from Maggs Bros. Ltd., by the Library Collectors' Council,
March 2022.
The botanical album has been held in the library at Shirburn Castle since it was created;
it was lastly owned by the 9th Earl of Macclesfield.
Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield (approximately 1726-1812) was born in Hursley,
Hampshire, the daughter of Sir William Heathcote, 1st Baronet, and Lady Elizabeth Parker. On
December 12, 1749, Mary Parker married her first cousin, Thomas Parker, 3rd Earl of
Macclesfield (1723-1795); together they had two sons and a daughter, Lady Elizabeth Parker
(1751-1829). Thomas Parker was a politician and Fellow of the Royal Society. The
Macclesfield family seat is Shirburn Castle, Watlington, Oxfordshire. Mary Parker, and her
daughter Elizabeth, were taught botanical drawing by German Georg Ehret (1807-1770), the
pre-eminent botanical draughtsman of the eighteenth century and former head of Oxford
Botanical Garden. In the eighteenth century, botanical illustration was deemed essential
education for aristocratic women and both women became expert amateurs. Mary Parker died on
May 20, 1812.
A botanical album created by Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield; she started the album
in 1756 when she was 30 years of age. Flower painting had become a fashionable occupation
for the wives and daughters of the great houses of England and Mary Parker achieved
exceptional ability under the tutelage of Georg Ehret. The album contains 48 watercolor and
gouache paintings on parchment; depicted are both sides of the plant's leaves and also shown
are more than one reproductive stage for each specimen: with the early formation of the
blossom, the growing petals, and the full expression of the flower. The images in the album
depict numerous plant specimens, sometimes with butterflies and other insects, most likely
local to the Macclesfield estate, Shirburn Castle, in Oxfordshire. Many of the illustrations
are identified by names predating Carl Linnaeus' binomial plant nomenclature in his "Species
Plantarum" (1753), while other notations on the illustrations include Linnaeus' names. The
album is bound in a contemporary, richly gilt morocco wallet binding, with interior green
silk ties; the binding is likely by Richard Montagu. The pages in the album are marked with
the Macclesfield armorial blind stamp. It has a lock and key fastening, and while the
original key is present, the lock has been deactivated by a professional restorer, please do
not attempt to use the key; also present is a red velvet bookmark.
The album was cataloged by Gayle M. Richardson in August 2022.
Lady Elizabeth Parker Fane botanical album, 1765-1767 (mssHM 84101).
Existence and Location of Copies
This item has been digitized in its entirety and the digital reproductions are available in
the
Huntington Digital Library.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Botanical illustration -- Great Britain -- 18th century
Botany -- Pictorial works -- Early works to 1800
Women art students -- Education -- Great Britain -- 18th
century
Women illustrators -- Great Britain -- 18th century
Botanical illustrations -- Great Britain -- 18th century
Pictorial albums -- Great Britain -- 18th century
Scientific illustrations (images) -- Great Britain -- 18th
century
Watercolors (paintings) -- Great Britain -- 18th century
Ehret, Georg Dionysius,
1708-1770
Fane, Elizabeth Parker, Lady, 1751-1829