Mormodes is built asymmetrically — the whole flower twists off its axis, so that no two sit the same way on the spike — and it is spring-loaded. Touch the column and the pollen packet is fired out and glued to whatever did the touching. Darwin was fascinated by these mechanisms and wrote a whole book about orchid pollination; Bateman's plates are among the pictures he was looking at. An orchid is not a decoration. It is a machine for using an insect.

Maker: after Augusta Withers and Sarah Drake, for James Bateman
Date: 1837–1843
Medium of the original: Plate
Original held by: Wikimedia Commons
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Rights: Public domain, verified
Catalogue number: PA-01032

As chosen: 18 x 24 in, art print, classic frame
Picture	18 x 24 in
Outside size	19.6 x 25.6 in
Depth	0.9 in (22 mm)
Weight	[[REAL PROOF NEEDED: shipped weight per size and frame]]
Hanging	[[REAL PROOF NEEDED: hanging hardware Prodigi fits to this frame]]
Material	Enhanced matte art paper, 200 gsm; acrylic glazing
Made in	Charlotte, North Carolina, by Prodigi

Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.

How the print check works

Sizes offered
Size	dpi	Grade	How it fits
8 x 12 in	450	Excellent	Trimmed 1.6%
12 x 16 in	304	Excellent	Trimmed 9.7%
12 x 18 in	300	Excellent	Trimmed 1.6%
16 x 24 in	225	Excellent	Trimmed 1.6%
18 x 24 in	203	Excellent	Trimmed 9.7%
20 x 30 in	180	Good	Trimmed 1.6%
24 x 36 in	150	Good	Trimmed 1.6%

Sizes withheld
Size	Why
8 x 10 in	Wrong shape: a 15% crop
11 x 14 in	Wrong shape: a 14% crop
16 x 20 in	Wrong shape: a 15% crop
24 x 30 in	Wrong shape: a 15% crop
30 x 40 in	121 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
36 x 48 in	101 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
40 x 60 in	90 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged