Some rose names disappear into catalogues. Others stay in memory because they were linked to a person, a place or a moment in history. In vintage botanical prints these names become part of the charm of the artwork because they evoke feelings.
Many of the rose prints available at French Vintage Prints come from mid-century French and Swiss botanical books where each rose variety was carefully identified and documented. Looking through them feels a little like reading a social history not only of roses but of the society of the time.
Rose breeders have long named new varieties after actresses, aristocrats, writers, musicians and public figures. Sometimes the connection was personal, sometimes it was simply a way to mark the cultural atmosphere of the time.
One example is the rose "Louis de Funès" named after the famous French actor and comedian known for films such as La Grande Vadrouille and Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez. The rose itself is vivid orange, energetic and impossible to ignore, which makes the choice understandable.
Other varieties were linked directly to internationally known public figures. The Christian Dior rose print presents a deep red hybrid tea rose named after the famous couturier Christian Dior. Introduced in the late 1950s, the variety reflects the close relationship between roses and French fashion culture during the period.
The Grace de Monaco rose print references Princess Grace of Monaco, formerly Grace Kelly. Like many roses named after royalty and public figures, the naming helped place the flower within a wider cultural imagination tied to elegance and prestige.
The collection also includes a Queen Elizabeth rose print, based on the famous pink Grandiflora rose introduced in the 1950s and named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II. The variety became one of the best-known roses of the twentieth century because of its large flowers and strong garden performance.
Another example is the Tiffany rose print, named after the American jewellery house Tiffany & Co. Introduced in the 1950s, the rose carried the same association with luxury branding and postwar refinement that many breeders were seeking at the time.
The tradition was especially strong in France, where rose breeding became closely tied to fashion, politics, theatre, and society life. The Meilland family alone introduced countless varieties carrying names connected to public figures and cultural references.
This is part of what makes vintage rose prints interesting beyond their decorative value. The labels attached to the flowers are not random botanical identifiers. They reflect the tastes and references of the period in which the roses were created.
Some names evoke places like Paris directly. The "Champs Élysées" rose, for example, references the famous avenue and the image of postwar Parisian elegance.
The deep red "Moulin Rouge" rose carries a completely different atmosphere, tied to cabaret culture and the mythology of Montmartre. These names give the prints a layer of context that would be missing from anonymous floral studies.
The botanical illustrations themselves were intended to document the roses accurately. In the 1962 rose plates sold by French Vintage Prints, the flowers were illustrated by Swiss artist Anne-Marie Trechslin, whose watercolours focused on structure, colour variation, and botanical detail rather than stylisation. The prints were originally produced for a French-language book simply titled Roses.
Long before the twentieth century, Pierre-Joseph Redouté had already established the connection between roses, prestige and historical figures. Working under the patronage of Empress Joséphine at Malmaison, Redouté documented hundreds of rose varieties in Les Roses, published between 1817 and 1824. His work helped shape the visual language still associated with botanical rose illustration today.
Vintage rose prints sit somewhere between botanical archive and decorative art. The named varieties make them feel specific and personal. A print is not simply "a pink rose" or "a yellow rose." It represents a cultivar with its own history, breeder and cultural references.
That specificity is part of why these prints continue to work so well in interiors. They bring colour and botanical detail, but they also carry stories attached to their names. Some reference historical figures. Others evoke Paris, old gardens, cinema, or aristocratic life.
Seen together, they form a small archive of how roses moved through culture over the last two centuries.
Sources consulted for historical background on named roses and botanical illustration include references on Pierre-Joseph Redouté and historic rose cultivars. (frenchvintageprints.com)