Dahlia art

Dahlia highlights from
the RHS Lindley Collections

RHS Lindley Collections

Take a tour of the Lindley Library’s finest illustrations, engravings and original paintings of dahlias. Click each image for more detail.

Illustration of 'De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea'

Image: Illustration ‘De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea’ from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration ‘De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea’ from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia]

Image: Engraving of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia] from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Engraving of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia] from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Dahlia rosea

Image: Illustration of Dahlia rosea, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1794). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration of Dahlia rosea, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1794). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Dahlia pinnata

Image: Illustration of Dahlia pinnata, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1791). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration of Dahlia pinnata, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1791). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards

Image: Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards, originally commissioned for Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 1817. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards, originally commissioned for Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 1817. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of dahilas

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of dahilas

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’ after an original by Sydenham Teast Edwards. Published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 1804. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’ after an original by Sydenham Teast Edwards. Published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 1804. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections

Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias

Image: Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias after an original by Augusta Innes Withers, from E. G. Henderson & Son, The illustrated bouquet, 1857(-1864). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias after an original by Augusta Innes Withers, from E. G. Henderson & Son, The illustrated bouquet, 1857(-1864). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna

Image: Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna, after an original painting by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist’s guide (London, 1829). Credit: RHS Lindley Collecitons.

Image: Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna, after an original painting by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist’s guide (London, 1829). Credit: RHS Lindley Collecitons.

Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’ after an original by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist‘s guide (London, 1829-32). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’ after an original by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist‘s guide (London, 1829-32). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer

Image: Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer. Credit: William Van Sommer / RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer. Credit: William Van Sommer / RHS Lindley Collections.

Item 1 of 12
Illustration of 'De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea'

Image: Illustration ‘De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea’ from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration ‘De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea’ from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia]

Image: Engraving of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia] from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Engraving of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia] from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Dahlia rosea

Image: Illustration of Dahlia rosea, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1794). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration of Dahlia rosea, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1794). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Dahlia pinnata

Image: Illustration of Dahlia pinnata, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1791). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration of Dahlia pinnata, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1791). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards

Image: Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards, originally commissioned for Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 1817. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards, originally commissioned for Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 1817. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of dahilas

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of dahilas

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’ after an original by Sydenham Teast Edwards. Published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 1804. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’ after an original by Sydenham Teast Edwards. Published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 1804. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections

Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias

Image: Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias after an original by Augusta Innes Withers, from E. G. Henderson & Son, The illustrated bouquet, 1857(-1864). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias after an original by Augusta Innes Withers, from E. G. Henderson & Son, The illustrated bouquet, 1857(-1864). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna

Image: Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna, after an original painting by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist’s guide (London, 1829). Credit: RHS Lindley Collecitons.

Image: Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna, after an original painting by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist’s guide (London, 1829). Credit: RHS Lindley Collecitons.

Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’ after an original by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist‘s guide (London, 1829-32). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’ after an original by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist‘s guide (London, 1829-32). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer

Image: Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer. Credit: William Van Sommer / RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer. Credit: William Van Sommer / RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of 'De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea'

Image: Illustration ‘De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea’ from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration ‘De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea’ from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia]

Image: Engraving of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia] from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Engraving of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia] from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Dahlia rosea

Image: Illustration of Dahlia rosea, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1794). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration of Dahlia rosea, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1794). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Dahlia pinnata

Image: Illustration of Dahlia pinnata, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1791). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration of Dahlia pinnata, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1791). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards

Image: Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards, originally commissioned for Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 1817. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards, originally commissioned for Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 1817. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of dahilas

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of dahilas

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’ after an original by Sydenham Teast Edwards. Published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 1804. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’ after an original by Sydenham Teast Edwards. Published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 1804. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections

Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias

Image: Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias after an original by Augusta Innes Withers, from E. G. Henderson & Son, The illustrated bouquet, 1857(-1864). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias after an original by Augusta Innes Withers, from E. G. Henderson & Son, The illustrated bouquet, 1857(-1864). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna

Image: Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna, after an original painting by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist’s guide (London, 1829). Credit: RHS Lindley Collecitons.

Image: Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna, after an original painting by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist’s guide (London, 1829). Credit: RHS Lindley Collecitons.

Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’ after an original by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist‘s guide (London, 1829-32). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’ after an original by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist‘s guide (London, 1829-32). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer

Image: Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer. Credit: William Van Sommer / RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer. Credit: William Van Sommer / RHS Lindley Collections.

Item 1 of 12
Illustration of 'De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea'

Image: Illustration ‘De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea’ from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration ‘De Yoloxchitl Aristochyea’ from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia]

Image: Engraving of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia] from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Engraving of Cocoxochitl [double dahlia] from Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome: 1648). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Dahlia rosea

Image: Illustration of Dahlia rosea, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1794). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration of Dahlia rosea, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1794). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Illustration of Dahlia pinnata

Image: Illustration of Dahlia pinnata, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1791). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Illustration of Dahlia pinnata, after an original by Antonio José Cavanilles, from Icones et descriptiones plantarum (Madrid: 1791). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards

Image: Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards, originally commissioned for Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 1817. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Watercolour on paper of a dahlia by Edward Teast Edwards, originally commissioned for Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 1817. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of dahilas

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of dahilas

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of dahilas, from Samuel Curtis, The Beauties of Flora (Nottinghamshire, 1820). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’ after an original by Sydenham Teast Edwards. Published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 1804. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dahlia coccinea, scartlet-flowered dahlia’ after an original by Sydenham Teast Edwards. Published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 1804. Credit: RHS Lindley Collections

Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias

Image: Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias after an original by Augusta Innes Withers, from E. G. Henderson & Son, The illustrated bouquet, 1857(-1864). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of a selection of dahlias after an original by Augusta Innes Withers, from E. G. Henderson & Son, The illustrated bouquet, 1857(-1864). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna

Image: Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna, after an original painting by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist’s guide (London, 1829). Credit: RHS Lindley Collecitons.

Image: Colour engraving of Painted Lady Anemone-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. Belladonna, after an original painting by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist’s guide (London, 1829). Credit: RHS Lindley Collecitons.

Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’ after an original by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist‘s guide (London, 1829-32). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Colour engraving of ‘Dark Crimson-Flowered Georgina. Georgina variabilis var. sphaerocephala’ after an original by Edwin Dalton Smith, from Robert Sweet, The florist‘s guide (London, 1829-32). Credit: RHS Lindley Collections.

Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer

Image: Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer. Credit: William Van Sommer / RHS Lindley Collections.

Image: Autochrome of red, yellow and pink dahlias by William Van Sommer. Credit: William Van Sommer / RHS Lindley Collections.

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