- Title: Laelia Superbiens
- Author: Walter Hood Fitch
- Date: c.1865
- Condition: Excellent - scattered foxing
- Inches: 11 x 15 1/2 [Image]
- Centimeters: 27.94 x 39.37 [Image]
- Product ID: 308438
Laelia Superbiens is a large, epiphytic orchid species native to Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, commonly found in open or damp forests on trees or rocks in mountainous regions such as the Sierra Madre. It is notable for its very tall inflorescence, which can range from 30 to 74 inches and occasionally reaches up to 13 feet in length. This inflorescence bears 5 to 20 long-lasting flowers that are typically pink and about 5 inches across.
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.