The Prat Sisters: Free Spirits of the 1890s

Inscription on reverse reads, in part: "My most precious plate... This wild white iris: Iris family. Said by the late Dr. J.S. Mackay, Supt. of Education for Nova Scotia to be 'a priceless treasure!' It was discovered by the late Noel H. Wilcox (Archdeacon of Halifax, Nova Scotia), his mother, Mrs. C.S. Wilcox, and A.L. Prat; in Nova Scotia. It grew amid a lot of its blue cousins. Archdeacon Wilcox waded into the very swampy place, & secured a root, which he planted in a wild garden; where it rested; not blooming again until eleven years had passed. The plant has since bloomed yearly. - A.L.P."

Format: Watercolour over pencil

Artist: Annie L. Prat

Reference: Prat, Starr family Nova Scotia Archives 1979-147 vol. 595 no. 21