This is a fine art reproduction of an illustration from the book, New illustration of the sexual system of Carolus von Linnaeus: and the temple of Flora, or the garden of nature by Robert John Thornton, published in London in 1807. The third and final part of Robert John Thornton's New illustration of the sexual system of Carolus von Linnaeus, is probably the most sumptuous and renowned of all great flower books. It contains thirty-one plates which were produced by a variety of techniques, including aquatint, mezzotint, stipple and line engraving. The impressions were printed in color and afterward finished by hand. The classic dissertation on the artificial classification of plants by Carolus von Linnaeus was written in 1759-1762. These picturesque botanical plates illustrated the sexual system of Linnaeus, and were illustrated by Philippe Reinagle and the printmaker Richard Earlom. The Missouri Botanical Garden Library maintains one of the world's finest botanical libraries, including over 6,500 rare books, the earliest dating from 1474.