In 1805 Thomas Knight, one of the founder members of the RHS, encouraged gardeners to experiment with producing new and improved kinds of fruit. Detailed descriptions of hundreds of apple varieties were recorded at RHS meetings. Before the invention of photography, the Society also needed accurate visual images so it commissioned highly skilled artists to paint apples and other fruit.

William Hooker was the first artist employed by the Society to paint fruit varieties in an extensive project that lasted from 1815–1823. Many of the featured specimens were supplied by members. Over 200 paintings, by Hooker and other artists, make up this early collection which are bound in albums known as ‘Hooker’s Fruit Drawings’. Many of the varieties in these beautiful paintings no longer exist. The original paintings are held in the RHS Lindley Library in London.