Vintage Cherries

His name was Pierre Joseph Redouté and he lived from 1759 to 1840. He was known for his botanical illustrations. And, we’re lucky enough to have one of them.

Domestic cherries is what this plate was labeled. It is in French as is the rest of the book that may have been published as far back as 1833. This vintage cherries image isn’t just in the public domain in the United States, it is copyright free virtually everywhere.

Part of what I like about this food image is how even though the cherries are done in perfect form, Redouté included a pair of leaves that have been damaged or perhaps eaten. It makes this beautiful book plate somewhat more real. I didn’t do much editing with this one. Removed a handful of water spots or foxing and made the red a little more vibrant, but, other than that, this is pretty much as the artist intended it to be.