Dear AT, Do you have any idea where I can buy nice framed antique prints of fish or botanica - you know, the kind that look slightly scientific or anatomical? My boyfriend loves these, and I want to get a few for his birthday, and I have no idea where to go! There's gotta be a place in New York that's overflowing with these.
Thanks, Jen
This is out of our range, but a quick google image search revealed a few: www.botanical-art-prints.com, www.antiqueprints.com, and www.moosecountry.com. Anyone else? MGR
Last week, I saw that Auto (at 805 Washington) has a selection of vintage botany/science class posters with pictures of cross-sections and such. They were definitely NYC-priced but large and quite lovely.
There is a bookstore in midtown east/UWS that has tons of these, in different price ranges. I stumbled across it on a quick trip to the Pottery Barn on E. 59th and Lex, so it must be near there.
Sorry that I don't know the name of the store or its exact address. The store is in the middle of the block on the downtown side of the street.
There's a lot to sift through, but you can find a lot of really interesting botanical drawings at the New York Public Library Picture Collection:
http://digital.nypl.org/mmpco/index.cfm
Once you find some you like, you can order high quality prints (or high res files) online from their Photographic Services department.
Beware, browsing the database is *very* addictive.
Try the Phyllis Lucas Gallery & Old Print Center on 52nd and 2nd. They have a huge, though NYC-priced collection, with a wide range of subjects and knowledgeable staff.(There's also the Old Print Shop on 150 Lexington, though I've never been in--anyone else?) Many of the prints are sliced out of old books, so you feel like a bit of a butcher, but they're hand-tinted and nearly one of a kind.
John Derian's shop has botanical prints set as decoupage in glass pieces, like giant dome paperweights, vases and plates. Saves on having to frame a print, though the items can get pricey. The shop on 2nd and Bowery has some stunning pieces.
http://www.johnderian.com/index.html
Don't forget upstairs at Argosy Books (116 East 59th Street)
http://www.argosybooks.com/
And there's an absolutely wonderful purveyor of nicely-priced originals in New Zealand called Fine Rare Prints:
http://www.finerareprints.com/
... I've purchased from them before and they were a pleasure to work with.
The best source I've ever found for these (as well as for all sorts of bookplates and vintage illustrations) was a woman (Joyce?) who makes the antiques show circuit in Florida/the Southeast... couldn't find her business— Grey Heron Antiques— online, but I'll see if I can dig up her card. Found a reference to Grey Heron Antiques in Atlanta, but not sure if that's her.
A repro, but kind of an interesting variation from Ballard Designs...
http://www.ballarddesigns.com/bd/pdp.jsp?prod_oid=283037&showarrow=y&category_key=-15242&cursor=7
If you can swing the $126 (or share it with some friends) this is *the* most beautiful book. Pages and pages of botanicals and animals perfect for cutting up and framing. You won't be sad if you get this book- I promise!
"The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities" by Irmgard Musch et al.
The New York Horticultural Society has an annual exhibition of botanical illustrations:
http://hsny.org/html/exhibitions.htm
and I believe they sell prints in their gift shop. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden http://www.bbg.org has a florilegum society with regular shows--I'm pretty sure that they also sell prints in their gift shop.
Finally, try the Chelsea Flea Market for a ton of variety on the anatomical and animal print front. There is also a guy who sets up at the Union Square Gift Mall every winter, with old subway prints, botanical illustrations and other great images.
If you're looking for framed botanical prints, StudioBotanika has a great selection... it's mostly flowers, but there are some bird prints too and the prints are all in nice condition.
http://www.studiobotanika.com
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