Orchid

Samuel Holden seems to have specialised in the illustration of orchids and newly discovered exotic species. Holden painted many orchids in private collections, sometimes annotating his drawings with the location of his specimen. He was quick off the mark with this Cattleya drawn from an example in the collection of Sigismund Rucker of West Hill in Wandsworth. Rucker was the first to cultivate this particular species in England in 1847, the year of Holden's study.

The second plant here is an unidentified example of Achimenes, a group of plants from Central and South America that are related to African Violets and Gloxinias. These plants have many common names, including Magic Flower and Orchid Pansy. These plants became particularly popular in the nineteenth century when new species began to be introduced into Europe and hybrids were produced.