Louis van Houtte (1810-1876) owned the largest nursery of its time in Europe. Van Houtte grew plants for European conservatories and royalty.
He sent plant collectors to the Americas to search for orchids and other exotic plants.
He founded several illustrated journals about his plants. The journals helped customers choose and grow his plants.
He employed some of the best lithographers of the era, such as Severeyns and De Pannemaker. They had mastered the art of color printing from stone. They made the beautiful lithographs for the journals in a printing office in his gardens.
His best known journal is the famous "Flore des Serres et des Jardins de l'Europe". He published this from 1845 to 1883.
Here are some of the lithographs for you to choose from. They are genuine antique prints.