D.W. Kellogg and Company - Flora - 1833-1842 - T-Shirt

A hand-colored lithograph of a young woman with curled ringlets holding a bouquet of roses and foliage, set in a soft oval vignette against a warm beige sheet.

Visual Elements & Composition

The oval-framed figure sits at the center of a rectangular sheet, with the page's warm beige ground filling most of the space around her. Sage green and olive yellow carry the foliage, while dusty pink and brown pick out the roses and the tree trunk rising behind the shrubbery. The palette is quiet and earthy, and the botanical detail is rendered with the careful line of a printed plate. The lettering reads "FLORA." across the top, with the printer's imprint, "Lith. of D. M. Kellogg & Co. 110 Main St. Hartford, Conn.", and the plate number "uo.2514" along the lower margin.

Meaning & Symbolism

Produced in Hartford, Connecticut, between 1833 and 1842, this print belongs to the period when lithography made affordable images widely available to American households. Flora was a common theme in that era, and a figure paired with a bouquet links the study of plant life to the cultivated domestic interior. Before photography, prints like this served as a bridge between the wilderness and the parlor, inviting viewers to study and contemplate nature as both an intellectual and moral pursuit. The firm's work shaped how botanical science and art reached a growing public.

Designed for the Wearer

A botanical plate like this reads best at close range, where the ringlets, the roses and the fine foliage can be taken in one at a time. Across the chest of a tee, the oval vignette becomes a focal point that holds attention up close, and the warm beige and sage tones let the design sit comfortably in everyday wear. The print carries the same care in its detail that made the original a parlor keepsake.