Paper Flowers by Mary Delany

I first found out about Mary Delany, an Englishwoman born in 1700, from Pearl Street Interiors.

At the age of 71, Mary began crafting botanical prints out of cut paper. She based her works on actual plants she had collected, ensuring that her creations were accurate reproductions. Some of her flowers were formed of over 100 pieces!

Mary, encouraged by King George and Queen Charlotte, completed nearly 1,000 prints before the age of 88 when her eyesight became too poor to continue. Her pieces are now owned by the British Museum.