This page features the prints of Jane Webb Loudon (1807-1858).

Jane Webb was born in 1807 in Birmingham England, and orphaned at age 17 when her father died.  Upon winding up her fathers affairs, it became apparent that it would be necessary to do something to support herself.  So she wrote a strange and wild novel for her time called The Mummy, Tales From the Twenty-Second Century.  After reading a copy of this futuristic novel with its attempts to predict improvements, of which he also made a reference to one of its devices in his publication The Gardener’s magazine. John Loudon desired to meet the author of this novel.  In 1830, John mentioned this desire to a lady friend, who also happened to be an acquaintance of Ms. Webb’s, of his in passing, who quickly arranged a meeting.  Ms. Webb later wrote that John must have been surprised to learn that the author was a woman, for she had published The Mummy under a man’s pen name.  Shocked or not, they married 7 months later, in September of 1830 (she was 23 and he 47.)

As time passed, their financial situation worsened, and as a result she chose to publish botanical books for the common person (she found that the books available at the time were too technical for the common lay person, and would write hers in language that all could understand.)  Her first book, Instructions in Gardening for Ladies, was a runaway success, selling 20,000 copies.  Unlike women of her time, she continued to work through her pregnancy, helping her husband with his book Abroretum Britannicum.  This work proved to be a large and expensive undertaking, deteriorating not only John’s health, but their financial woes also. 

By 1838, John’s health was declining, and they were in severe financial debt.  At this time she began work on The Ladies Flowers Garden series.  Though it was not as financially successful as her previous works, it was and still is considered the best of its era.  In 1843, at the age of 60, John Loudon died, and Jane never fully recovered financially.  She dabbled with more botanical works, though none were successful, and struggled through her final years.  Even though she was still relatively young, and considered attractive, she chose not to remarry.  She died in 1858 and was buried next to her husband.

Jane Webb Loudon’s prints were considered unrivaled in her time, and were still quite common and desirable earlier this century.  The plates from The Ladies Flowers Garden series were commonly used to decorate lampshades, serving trays and many other items.  Due to this, Loudon’s books have become quite scarce, and command ever increasing prices.  Due to their high degree of skill, both in its lithography and painting, and desirable subject matter, the grouping of similar flowers into attractive bouquets as opposed to single flower plates, Loudon plates continue to be highly sought after.