A set of six hand coloured botanical engravings

A set of six hand coloured botanical engravings, each inscribed in the top left corner 'H. N. Botanique par M. Delile', with illustrations of exotic plants, 78.7 x 62.5cm, in later glazed frames. (6)

Alire Raffeneau Delile (23 January 1778 - 5 July 1850) was a French botanist who participated in Napoleon Bonaparte's Egypt Campaign. In 1798 more than a hundred and fifty engineers, astronomers, physicists, chemists, doctors, botanists, naturalists, and artists made the arduous journey to Egypt. They later presented their discoveries in the publication titled 'Description de l'Egypte', including these botanical illustrations. Delile carried on with his botanical studies in North America and then in France and was named director of the botanical garden in Montpellier in 1832.