English: From 1850 to 1895, Vilmorin-Andrieux & Co., a Parisian seed company, commissioned a series of lavish illustrations as advertisements for its vegetables and fruits. The collection was eventually published as “Album Vilmorin (Les Plantes Potagères)”, a volume that survives in only a few libraries today. The album showcased the work of the company, started in 1743 by Claude Geoffroy, the daughter of a seed merchant, and Pierre d’Andrieux, a botanist to King Louis XV, and the pioneering work done by their heirs, who were among the first to practice the science of seed breeding. Les Plantes potagères (The Vegetable Garden, 1850–1895) featuring 46 colour plates. The Vilmorins employed some 15 painters to create this work of agro-botanic iconography; most had trained as artist-naturalists at the Jardin des Plantes, the former Royal Gardens, including Elisa Champin, who painted a large number of the finest plates.