The Transylvania Florilegium
One of the two Royal Florilegia. A fine-art edition in two volumes. Each set is hand-bound in leather and marbled paper, and finished with gold leaf. The Transylvania Florilegium is a sumptuous collection of stunning botanical art created by artists, craftsmen and women, botanists and scholars. The Florilegia was created at the suggestion of HM King Charles III, then HRH The Prince of Wales. HM The King is the author of the Preface and has signed every set.
“The superb Transylvania Florilegium, published by Addison Publications with support from King Charles, exemplifies in two volumes the fluid lines between utility and art. Its underlying watercolours, 124 in all, are intended as an accurate record of highlights of the rich flora of this part of Romania, but they are also the work of major botanical artists, selected to paint in nature with live plants around them”
Robin Lane Fox, the FT, December 2025
In 2008 Addison published the first royal florilegium, the Highgrove Florilegium — a richly illustrated celebration of the gardens at Highgrove House. This royal florilegia is now joined by a second, a celebration of the remarkable wildflower meadows and uplands of Transylvania.
After the completion of a period of field study taking place over six years by some of the world’s finest botanical artists, a collection of 124 watercolours has been chosen to record the flora of Transylvania. The meadows and uplands of this region are an oasis of richness and biodiversity.
“The book has a documentary dimension but its contents and binding mark it out as a work of art”
Robin Lane Fox
HM King Charles III is a passionate supporter of the conservation of this precious environment, and the paintings of the Florilegium were created by artists studying the flora at his properties at Viscri and Zalanpatak.
Introducing the Transylvania Florilegium
The Transylvania Florilegium images: Copyright A. G. Carrick Ltd.
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When HM King Charles III, then HRH The Prince of Wales, first visited Transylvania in the 1990s he was 'totally overwhelmed by its unique beauty and its extraordinarily rich heritage'. He has property in the Saxon Village of Viscri and the more remote Zalanpatak.
His Majesty saw the importance of this beautiful landscape, rich in meadows, with flora that is extremely rare and vulnerable to changes in farming methods. His Majesty suggested it should be recorded in the form of a florilegium. The Transylvania Florilegium would be a means of drawing wider attention to the precious flora. It would not only be a splendid and important publication but also an appeal for the protection of the environment, since the traditionally managed grassland is fundamental to the landscape in a centuries-old managed ecosystem.
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The botanist Dr John Akeroyd FLS, an authority on European plants who has been studying Transylvanian flora for over fifteen years, drew up a list of important plants and together with Helen Allen FLS, artist and Principal of The School of Botanical Art at The Chelsea Physic Garden, accompanied a team of international botanical artists to Romania. The group was made up of leading botanical artists from America, Australia, England, France, Holland, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey.
In a project that took over six years, 124 botanical illustrations have been completed - campanula, crocus, gentian, geranium, hepatica, hellebore, iris and orchids to name but a few. As with the Highgrove Florilegium, the paintings have been through a rigorous selection panel of artists, botanists and art historians to ensure a high standard of work.
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Beverly ALLEN, Helen ALLEN, Martin ALLEN, Fay BALLARD, Gillian BARLOW, Christine BATTLE, Marie-Christine BOUVIER, Andrew BROWN, Gillian CONDY, Celia CRAMPTON, Angélique DE FOLIN, Gillian FOSTER, Sarah GOULD, Lucinda GRANT, Isık GÜNER, Noriko HASEGAWA, Mayumi HASHI, Junko IWATA, Heeyoung KIM, Flappy LANE FOX, Chrissie LIGHTFOOT, Jill MAYHEW, Kate NESSLER, Susan OGILVY, John PASTORIZA PIÑOL, Jenny PHILLIPS, Elaine SEARLE, Laura SILBURN, Lucy SMITH, Sally STRAWSON, Mary Ellen TAYLOR, Vicki THOMAS, Julia TRICKEY, Anita WALSMIT SACHS-JANSEN, Amanda WARD, Susan WORTHINGTON
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Both the Highgrove Florilegium and Transylvania Florilegium are made with traditional bookbinding in combination with modern printing technology. Images are scanned at actual size before being printed in England on especially-made archival paper. The text is printed on Somerset paper, again in a special making for this publication. The sheets are collated and sewn by hand in the bindery of Stephen Conway, who runs one of the few craft binderies in England. The Transylvania Florilegium is presented as a two-volume work, half-bound in dark green chieftain goat skin with hand-marbled paper sides. The leather is specially prepared and dyed by J. Hewit and Sons in Edinburgh while Jemma Lewis produces every sheet of marbled paper by hand on an English paper from Cumbria. Especially cut tools have been made for James and Stuart Brockman, the eminent designer book binders, using designs by artist Richard Shirley Smith. Each book is hand finished using gold leaf. Before delivery to a new subscriber, every volume is wrapped in a hand-crafted felt cover, made in Scotland by Liz Gaffney of Heartfelt by Liz.
The book design was made and completed by Iain Bain of Hertfordshire.
His Majesty King Charles III, who has written the Preface, has kindly agreed to sign each set. The edition is limited to 150 hand-numbered copies.
The Transylvania Florilegium is a limited-edition publication of 150 sets only. Each volume measures 19½ x 14 x 2 inches. (495 x 355 x 50mm)
The introductions to the Transylvania Florilegium are by Christopher Mills, formerly Librarian at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Dr John Akeroyd FLS. Dr Akeroyd has also written an informative text for each plant including scientific botanical detail in addition to recording where and when the illustrated specimen was found.
Each book is individually made up, which means that a special dedication page can be ordered. This valuable book is already in special collections and libraries around the world. Subscribers include the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, the Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria, the Linnean Society, Michigan State University, the Andersen Horticultural Library at the University of Minnesota and the property of HM King Charles III in Viscri.
Specially commissioned drawings by Richard Shirley Smith decorate the text and the end papers. The decorative motifs include plants, animals, insects and buildings found in Transylvania
Get in touch
If you would like to like to reserve a copy or request a viewing of the Transylvania Florilegium, or if you would simply like to know more, you can call Addison Publications on +44 (0) 20 7602 1848 or email susan.barnes@addisonpublications.com or fill in the form below and we will be delighted to contact you.