Vilmorin-Andrieux

The Vegetable Garden Vilmorin-Andrieux

Grain merchant Philippe Victoire de Vilmorin and Pierre Andrieux, seed collector and botanist to King Louis XV, together formed Vilmorin-Andrieux & Cie and produced the first seed catalogue for farmers and academics. They became hugely respected botanical experts and a series of publications followed, culminating in arguably the company's most famous work, "Les Plantes potagères" ("The Vegetable Garden"), published for the first time in 1850. For this stunning tome of "agro-botanic iconography" 15 painters were hired to render fruits and vegetables. It stands today as a fundamental reference for anyone interested in heritage vegetables and their origins.