Born in Boston and educated in France, Breck (1771-1862) served as president of the Athenaeum from 1845 to 1862. It was during his tenure that the cornerstone of the present Athenaeum building was laid in 1845. In 1855 the Board of Directors decided to honor Beck's service to the institution by commissioning a medallion of him by sculptor Henry Dmochowski Saunders. A political exile from Lithuania (then part of Russian Poland), Saunders lived in Philadelphia from 1853 to 1857, having developed a good reputation for creating busts, medallions and statuettes of many notable figures. His busts of Kosciuszko and Pulaski are in Washington, at the Capitol.]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> Received by Roberts Vaux, Treasurer]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]>
The Temple of flora was issued with a separate engraved titlepage contained on 2 leaves, bearing the date 1799; the text consisted of descriptions of the plants, poetry and miscellaneous material.

Plates are primarily aquatints and mezzotints executed by a variety pf artists and engravers; signed by artists: Russel [Russell], Opie, Reinagle, Perther, S. Edwards, Thornton and Henderson; and engravers: Caldwall, Burke, Ward, Elmes, Warner, Earlom, Lewis and Hopwood, Sutherland, Medland, Dunkarton, Stadler and Landseers.

"Originally published in parts between 1799 and 1807; published in book form with additional material and plates in 1807"--ESTC.

The work was first advertised in 1797, and seems to have been issued in parts at twenty-five shillings each between 1799 and 1807; no two copies are exactly alike as Thornton made up copies using different combinations of plates.

Most plates with date and publishing information printed at bottom, others have date added in pencil; many plates are in 2nd (or later state) according to Grigson in Thornton's Temple of flora (1972)

Plates are arranged in the order in which they appear in the original contents sheet. Cf. Grigson, G. Thornton's Temple of flora, 1972.]]> ]]>
Plates are dated 1799-1807 with the exception of "Queen flower" which bears the printed date of 1812.]]>