- Title: Dendrobium Macrophyllum Giganteum
- Author: Walter Hood Fitch
- Date: c.1865
- Condition: Very - scattered foxing
- Inches: 10 3/4 x 16 [Image]
- Centimeters: 27.30 x 40.64 [Image]
- Product ID: 308444
Dendrobium macrophyllum var. giganteum is a large, robust variety of the widespread species Dendrobium macrophyllum, native to a broad region spanning Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This orchid is notable for its size, showy flowers, and adaptability to various tropical habitats.
Background on Creator
Walter Hood Fitch (1817-1892) was born in Glasgow, Scotland. From a young age, he demonstrated artistic talent and began formal training as a pattern drawer at a textile mill by the age of 13. This early apprenticeship, which involved creating intricate designs for calico fabric and mastering the complex process of engraving and color matching, laid the technical foundation for his later work as a botanical illustrator.
Fitch’s career in botanical art began after a pivotal meeting with William Jackson Hooker, the Regius Professor of Botany at Glasgow University and editor of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine. Impressed by Fitch’s skill and attention to detail, Hooker bought him out of his apprenticeship and employed him to produce botanical illustrations for the magazine. Fitch’s first published lithograph, of Mimulus roseus, appeared in 1834.