Henry Charles Andrews

Erica grandiflora L.f. 1802

Henry Cranke Andrews (fl. 1794 - 1830), was an English botanist, and an artist who illustrated plants. As he always published as Henry C. Andrews, and due to difficulty finding records, the C. was referred to as Charles, from 1961 until a record of his marriage registration was found in 2017.

Early life and career

He lived in Knightsbridge. He was married to the daughter of John Kennedy of Hammersmith, a nurseryman who helped Andrews to write descriptions of the plants he illustrated.

Andrews was a good and unusual botanical artist. He was not only an artist, but also engraver, colorist, and publisher in a time when most artists were only employed to make small drawings. The Botanist's Repository was his first publication. It was issued in London in a series of ten volumes between 1797 and 1812. It provided affordable images of plants to the growing population of amateur gardeners in Britain.

Works

The Kew publication, Curtis's Botanical Magazine, wrote that Andrews' work was very accurate. Andrews' images have a more artistic appeal compared to the publications of his rival, which were focused more on scientific descriptions.

Publications

• Botanists Repository, Comprising Colour'd Engravings of New and Rare Plants (10 vols.) (London, 1797–1812)
• Coloured Engravings of Heaths 1794-1830 4 vols.
• The Heathery 1804-1812 6 vols.
• Geraniums or A Monograph of the Genus Geranium (London 1805-1806 2 vols.)
• Roses 1805-1828