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Polygala vulgaris (Common Milkwort) Le laitier commun French botanist Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard was born around 1742 at Aubepierre-en-Barrois (Haute Marne) and died on 26 September 1793 in Paris. He studied at Angers, and later illustrated and published a number of botanical and mycological works on French flora. He studied art and engraving under Francois Martinet, the celebrated artist of many of Buffon's natural history books. His first book was "Flora of Paris" (1776-80), a re-edition of Sebastien Vaillant's work according to the Linnaean system. From 1780 until his death in 1793 he worked on the "Herbier de la France, " a complete flora of French plants with over 600 plates. It was probably the first botanical work completely colour printed without retouching by hand. Blunt calls it "an attractive work, illustrated with colored engravings that are both delicate and accurate." Gill Saunders wrote in "Picturing Plants" (1995): "The Herbier is one of the most impressive examples of colour-printing in the history of botanical illustration." Bulliard drew, engraved and colour-printed all his own books and developed an instantly recognizable style. The botanical subject is arranged to fill a bordered window and the descriptive text is engraved below. Bulliard pioneered color copperplate printing: the image was formed with a line engraving in black, followed by three tint plates to add color to the flowers and leaves. The system meant he was able to produce illustrated books in color at a lower price than his competitors.
