Zhenhua Wang (Chinese, 20th C.) "Purple Tulips" Signed and stamped middle left. Watercolor on Rice Paper. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This artwork originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day of Issue Maximum Card for the U.S. 29c Tulip Booklet stamp issued January 22, 1991. "Clean as a lady, cool as glass, fresh without fragrance the tulip was," wrote poet Humbert Wolfe in 1924. His words aptly describe the crisp lines and austere elegance of this garden perennial. In 1554 O. de Busbecq, the Austrian ambassador to Turkey, spied tulips growing in a garden near Constantinople and brought a few bulbs back to Vienna. Conrad Gesner, a botanist of the era, began his own cultivation of tulips near Augsburg and soon word of this unusual flower spread throughout Europe. British and Dutch colonists brought the tulip to the Americas, and it has remained tremendously popular with serious and "week-end" gardeners alike. Lacking the heady perfume of a gardenia or tuberose and the dense, velvet blossoms of a rose, the tulip is a hardy but refined flower. Properly planted, it grows profusely but tidily. The tulip prefers moderate temperatures, well-drained soils and an occasional light shower. Like other bulb varieties, the tulip cannot withstand harsh winters. Conscientious gardeners must dig up the bulbs before the season's first hard freeze and store them in a cool, dry place. Perfect in floral arrangements, the tulip is equally impressive artfully placed in ornate bouquets or simply scattered in crystal vases. Size: 9.75 x 14 in. Unframed. (B12931)