Alexander Bowie, NURSERY & SEEDSMAN, N.o 4, Edward Street, PORTMAN SQUARE.

Dateca. 1780

MediumLine engraving on laid paper

DimensionsOverall: 2 1/2 × 3 5/8in. (6.4 × 9.2cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1975-211

DescriptionThe card reads: "The Public supplied with experienced Gardeners./ Alexander Bowie,/ NURSERY & SEEDSMAN,/ N.o 4, Edward Street,/ PORTMAN SQUARE./ And at his Nursery, Pedlars Acre,/ near Westminster Bridge./ Dealer in Hot House & Green house Plants/ Flower Roots, Russia Matts, &c./ Mushroom Spawn of Superior Quality."Label TextThe interest in new plant species from distant lands and the popularity of ornamental gardens made the profession of nurseryman and seedsman a lucrative business.

By 1790 Peter Bellet, a Frenchman who called himself a florist, gardener, botanist, and seedsman, developed a successful commercial nursery in Williamsburg, supplying seeds and plants locally as well as to other parts of Virginia.
ProvenanceBefore 1975, Bookpress, Ltd. (Williamsburg, VA); 1975-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).