Samuel Curtis (1779 - 1860) was the seventh child of James Curtis who was a surgeon/apothecary. He was born in Walworth, Surrey and the family made a home in Alton, Hampshire. During his time at the nursery, he published a series of botanical lectures which his cousin William had given to the Horticultural Society just before his death. Then in 1806 he published his first work in his own name. The publication titled “The Beauties of Flora” was a botanical book and was illustrated with excellent colored full-size plates by two artists who were prominent in those days, Clara Maria Pope and Thomas Baxter. The book became a great success and within 5 years he was looking for a landscape on a larger scale. Curtis developed a deep knowledge of hardy fruit trees and ornamental plants.
In 1808, he decided to leave the Walworth nursery and bought a property near Braintree in Essex at Glazenwood. Here, he began planting and collecting as many varieties of fruit trees as he could find throughout America, Europe and Britain. Due to his hard work and dedication, he was awarded the 'Medal of Honor' by the Society of Arts in 1808. Two years later he was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society. Curtis had a passion for Camellias and Magnolias and in 1819 he published “The Monograph of the Genus Camellia” which became his most famous work. Curtis died on January 6th 1860at La Chaire. He was at a churchyard in St Martin's.
