Sold outThe story behind the design
250,000 : 1. Worth the picking.
Saffron is the three red stigmas of the saffron crocus, picked by hand. By modern estimates it takes about 70,000 flowers, roughly 200,000 stigmas, to make a single pound of dried spice; older estimates run up to a quarter of a million. Around 40 hours of work goes into picking 150,000 flowers. Walden grew it so well in the 16th and 17th centuries that the crop renamed the town, and by 1790 local growing had all but disappeared. The print uses the old upper figure: the town's oldest boast, an absurd amount of effort for one pound.
Sources: Saffron · Saffron Walden TIC: The saffron crocus






