Pierre-Joseph Redoute, often called the "Raphael of flowers", is history"s most famous botanical artist. Employed by the Empress Josephine to record the plants and flowers in her lavish gardens at Malmaison, Redoute began his masterpiece in 1802 -- LES LILLACEES, a set of 486 exquisite watercolours painted on vellum. The plates derived from the watercolours were published in an edition of only 200 copies. This present edition reproduces the entire 468 watercolours known to survive from LES LILLACEES, thus conveying to posterity all the scientific and aesthetic brilliance of the originals. With great delicacy and in remarkable detail Redoute captured the shapes and colours not only of the lily family, but of iris, amaryllis, tulips, even pineapple and bananas -- plants that were difficult to press and dry for herbariums, thus making accurate illustrations an invaluable record. The publication of these paintings, which, remarkably, have survived intact for 170 years, seen by hardly anyone, will be a major event, confirming beyond doubt that LES LILLACEES is one of the greatest colourplate books ever published, and that its creator, Redoute, is the greatest illustrator of flowers of all time.