Botanical. Thornton. Pub Nov 01, 1808. 'Marsh Mouse-ear or Corastium Aquaticum'. Full Plate. Hand-coloured. 40x27cm.
 
Robert John Thornton, MD, (1768-1837). Robert Thornton was an English physician and botanist most noted for "A New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus Von Linnæus" (1797-1807), printed by T.Bensley, Fleet Street 1807. This was an ambitious project intended to out-do other European projects through the patronage of wealthy subscribers and the commissioning of the best artists of the day. It turned out to be a huge folly and quickly ran into funding difficulties. An act of parliament was passed enabling Thornton to issue 20,000 tickets for a Royal Botanical Lottery to support the book's production, but it was to no avail. The book was never completed, with only 31 of the proposed 70 plates printed, and Thornton was ruined.  He died destitute.