WITHERING’S “ ACCOUNT OF THE FOXGLOVE” 417 
Both Sowerby and Curtis appear in the Dictionary of National Biog- 
raphy and in other places, but no further light is thrown on this problem 
by the sketches of their life. The plate of the foxglove in the Flora 
Londinensis is identical with the so-called “ reversed” plate in the Colum- 
bia University Medical Library copy of Withering’s work. Even the 
paper and the watermark in the Flora are identical with the “ reversed ” 
plate. 
From these last facts, we are inclined to conclude that the Columbia 
University Medical Library “ reversed” print may have been the original 
engraved by Sowerby and printed for the Flora. When it was decided to 
use this plate as the frontispiece for Withering’s work, it is possible that 
all the sheets remaining from the Flora were bound into the Foxglove 
until this source was exhausted. It is also possible that the plate was then 
redrawn by Sowerby or one of his assistants, or reengraved tiru the 
original, thus accounting for the mirror-image copy in the more common 
copies. This is borne out by the wording of the preface which says the 
plate was “copied.” On the other hand, it may be that sometime from 
1785 to the present, owners of copies of Withering’s book minus the 
plate have attempted to complete their copies by adding the plate from 
Curtis’ work; however, in view of the expensiveness of the Flora when 
issued and at all times thereafter, this seems unlikely. 
The Columbia University Medical Library would be extremely in- 
terested in receiving any information on this question. It would par- 
ticularly like to know of other covies in the United States or Canada 
~eseewhich.have.the.so-catled...\.reversod.””..print.asewell.as.ahistory..of shee 
owners of these copies, wherever that is known. 
I should like to thank Miss Gertrude Annan and Miss Bettina G. Thrall 
of the Rare Book Room of the New York Academy of Medicine; Mr. 
Charles Adams, Assistant to the Director in charge of Special Collections, 
Columbia University Libraries, and Miss A. L. Hepburn, Librarian of 
the Natural Science Libraries at Columbia University.for their assistance 
on this problem. 
Aryeh Mies petal. 
