Left: Title-page of A Monograph of the Genus Lilium, W.H. Fitch's most significant later work. Right: Lilium Hansoni, plate 34.
The monograph was a folio set of seven parts with, in all, 48 plates by Fitch — coloured lithographs which depicted the various varieties of this popular plant, as described (and many of them successfully cultivated) by the botanist, collector and gardener Henry John Elwes (1846-1922). At 21 5/8 x 14 7/8 inches, the plates are large enough to show the flowers at their full size.
In his introduction, Elwes says: "it has been my constant endeavour, as well as that of Mr. Fitch, to combine truthful delineation with artistic excellence"; but he goes on to admit that he was not entirely satisfied with the result, explaining that certain colours were simply impossible to replicate in watercolour: "some tints, such as the shining coral-red of L. chalcedonicum, cannot be exactly reproduced except in oil-colours" (iii). Nevertheless, Fitch's watercolours are still, quite unquestionably, stunning artworks in themselves.
Image scans and text by Jacqueline Banerjee. [You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned them and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Elwes, Henry John. A Monograph of the Genus Lilium. Illustrated by W.H. Fitch. London: Taylor & Francis, 1877. Internet Archive". Web. 27 November 2025.
"ELWES, Henry John (1846-1922); Walter Hood FITCH (1817-1892), A Monograph of the Genus Lilium." Donald Heald. Web. 27 November 2025. https://www.donaldheald.com/pages/books/42330/henry-john-elwes-walter-hood-fitch/a-monograph-of-the-genus-lilium
Created 27 November 2025