Maxim Gauci (1774–1854), born in Malta, was an early exponent of lithography for botanical illustration. His firm completed works that included Nathaniel Wallich’s Plantae Asiaticae Rariores and James Bateman’s Orchidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala (1837-43), boasting the largest lithographic plates ever produced. Wilfrid Blunt had nothing but praise for Gauci, calling him “a master of the process, he ranged his tone from the palest of silvery greys to the richest velvet black; his outline is never mechanical or obtrusive.”[1]
Many of Gauci's portraits are in the National Portrait Gallery, London. See here.