This Handbook illustrates a selection of drawings of flowers from the collection at the Fitzwilliam Museum. The book is arranged chronologically and ranges from the fifteenth century to the present day. Beginning with illustrations from the borders and backgrounds of illuminated manuscripts, the selection traces the form through attempts at accurate delineation of form during the Renaissance to the more scientific approach of the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It concludes with several contemporary examples of flower drawings to show that the tradition continues. The illustrations bring out the stunning detail and colour characteristic of the art-form.