ABOUT THE PUBLICATION / EDITOR / ARTIST

Sir Joseph PAXTON  (1803–1865)

Joseph Paxton was born in 1803 (not 1801 as often stated).  The son of a farmer, he rose from his humble beginnings to become not only a prolific author/editor, but also a preeminent gardener, a Member of Parliament,  a noted (and innovative) architect and town planner, and a benefactor of the railways. Together with Charles Dickens, he founded the newspaper the ‘Daily News’, of which Dickens was the first editor and, through his architecture, even inspired the great engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

He designed large greenhouses for the Duke at Chatsworth (including one for the Giant Water Lily), and these were used as the basis for his successful design of the Great Exhibition (1850–1851) building, the Crystal Palace, which used the idea of a simple repeating motif to achieve an economical yet harmonious building. Over 233 designs were submitted for the building to house the “Great Exhibition of the Works of All Nations.” Joseph Paxton produced his design for a Crystal Palace on a piece of blotting paper, then submitted the final design in less than 9 days. The building itself was erected in just six months, a remarkable building with 293,655 panes of glass, 330 huge iron columns, and 24 miles of gutters. He continued to work on landscape gardening and laying out of public parks, but also designed various country houses and other domestic buildings.

As a botanical artist Paxton produced ‘The Magazine of Botany and Register of Flowering Plants’. This series of magazines was published in London 1834–1849. The ‘Magazine of Botany’ was published in 16 Volumes containing a total of 717 hand–colored plates, either drawn and engraved by Frederick W.Smith, or drawn and lithographed by Samuel Holden. The work is noted for the large number of exotic plants depicted, including many orchids, and for the richness and vibrancy of the hand–coloring.

During the years of 1850–1853, Paxton along with John Lindley published the rare three–volume work: Paxton’s Flower Garden.  A later, more common, 1882 edition was also produced. His other botanical achievements include the authorship of the ‘Horticultural Register’ (1831–36) and ‘Practical Treatise on the Culture of the Dahlia’ (1838) and co–founded, again with Lindley, the magazine the ‘Gardener’s Chronicle’.

Paxton died in Sydenham, England in 1865.