Roylance the Art of Botanical Illustration Checklist of an Exhibition

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Yale University Library

THE ART OF BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATION CHECKLIST OF AN EXHIBITIONAuthor(s): Dale R. RoylanceSource: The Yale University Library Gazette, Vol. 43, No. 2 (October 1968), pp. 98-122Published by: Yale University, acting through the Yale University Library

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LIBRARYGAZETTE 99

THE ART OF BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATION

CHECKLIST OF AN EXHIBITION

ByDale R.Roylance

SPECIALGraphicArts xhibitionn "TheArtofBotanicalIllustration"15 October-15 ecember,terling emorial

^ Library)s the econdn a series f YaleUniversityibraryexhibitionselatingo thehistoryfscience s it is so beautifullyexemplifiedn illustratedooks, ine rints,nddrawings.s in thefirst f these xhibitions,The Art of Scientificllustration"15March-15May1968),anattemptasbeenmade ostresshegraphicconjunctionf rt nd ciencehat s to be discoverednearly rintedbooks ndprints,nd todisplayomeof thewealth f materialsnthese reas f pecial ollectingn theYaleUniversityibrary.

Theplantworld,

n itsomnipresence,roliferation,

ndperennialrefloweringsusuallyaken erymuch or ranted.et few spectsf

ourexperienceombine omany othutilitarianndlife-enhancingbenefits.rom heGarden fEden oa futurehopefully)eautifiedAmerica,lant ifehas set he cene or hebest ndgreenestfpos-sibleworlds. nly he ighteenth-centuryoudoirrtist oucherouldfind atureoogreen: laverd,'est etrop"Butformost fus, rees,flowers,ndgardensre still mong hebest f ife's menities,ool

placeswhere hebeleaguered ind ndspiritmay tillretreat,s in

ElizabethanoetMarvell'sTheGarden,"To a green houghtnagreenhade."

The beautyfnature, owever,as beenhistoricallydiscoverysecondaryothat f heutilitarianalue fplants.t s this mergenceof botanicalllustrationrom hesolelypractical pplicationsndmedicinalsesofthe arly erbáisofloral rtfor tsown sakethathas beenemphasizedn thechronologicalrrangementf this x-hibition.

Inaddition,

ll of thepecial rintingechniques

ftheGraphicArts woodcut,ngraving,tching, ezzotint,olor rinting,ithog-

raphy,aturerinting,ndphotographydistinctivelymerge ith-in thehistoricalpan f he xhibitiono dentifyhemselvesith hevarious uccessivehasesof botanical ooks, o be recognizeds







ioo THE YALE UNIVERSITY

essentialnfluencesntheprogressiveevelopment

fbotanicalllus-tration,oth sart nd cience.

I. Fifteenth Century: The Garden of Health -Woodcut Herbals

In anageof hortife xpectancy,uetotheplague nd countlessother odilylls, t snot urprisingodiscovernthegraphicrts ftheMiddleAgesthefrequentheme f"The Danceof Death."This

class f tarkly acabre oodcut ooks ndprintsfthe ver-presentimageofDeath is cheerfullyounterbalancedyanotherypeofillustratedook f he eriod,hewoodcut erbal.ntheherbal,lltheancient raditionalures rom lantswerecompiledntoa sort fprinted ardenpharmacy,sually itled he "Gardenof Health"(Hortus anitatisnLatin, r GartderGesundheitnGerman.)

i. HerbariusatinusMainz, .Schoeffer,484).The firstGermanprintedherbal,printedby Gutenberg's ssociatePeter

Schoeffer,s shownhereopenedto thewoodcut epresentationf a lily.As inall fifteenth-centuryrintedherbals, he illustrationsre createdfrom ross-grained locksofwood cut to leave a reliefmage,which s then nked andprinted longwith thetext, nd subsequentlyand colored.

Yale Medical Historical ibrary. iftof HarveyCushing.









IO2 THE YALE UNIVERSITY

Eve appearon either ideofthismostfamous fearly lants f theGarden f

Eden,withAdamreluctantlybouttotaste heforbiddenruit.YaleMedical Historical ibrary. iftof ArnoldKlebs.

7. Hieronymous runschwig:as Distilierbuch . . (Strassburg,1521).

The arts of distilling ave forthnot onlythepharmaceuticalssenceof

plants, utalso the ncient onics fwine,beer, ndother lcoholic everages.SeveralGerman ditions fJerome fBrunswick'siber de Arte Distillandi(1500) appearedduring he first artof the sixteenthentury,ll illustrated

withherbalwoodcutsndcongenial cenes fbanqueting.YaleMedicalHistorical ibrary.

8. Dialoguscreaturarumoralisatus . . (Gouda,GerardLeeuw,1480).

The delightfulnimism ivento certain lants n themedievalherbáis sencounteredhroughoutneof themostdisarmingfearly rinted ooks, he"DialogueofCreatures,"ublished yGerard eeuw n theNetherlands. ereall nature sun,moonand stars, tones, lants, nd animals engages n themostcordialconversation.he book consists f a seriesof these moralistic

dialoguesbetween reatures,uch as thatbetween hepartridgend therosetree.The partridgeiscovershat very osehas itsthorn: The rosebe bothswete ndsofte, utthethornis e sharpe ndprykkythe of e" (Haslewoodtranslation).

Gift fMrs.DavidWagstaff.

|Q^% ^







LIBRARYGAZETTE 103

II. The Sixteenth Century: Botany as Art

Thepursuitfthebeautifulatherhan heuseful nplantswasnotunknownuringheperiod fthewoodcut erbáis;ndeedomeof he inestelineationfflowers,lwaysnthemost rilliantaturalpigmentsndappropriatelyicrocosmiccale, s tobe found ntheminiatureaintingsffifteenth-ndsixteenth-centuryanuscriptl-lumination.

9. School fGhent:ManuscriptookofHours, a.1485.All ofthefloral ecorationsfthis mall ndvery eautifulmanuscriptre

scientificallyccurate otanicalpecimens.hepainted lowers,risp smineral

crystals,e ewel every age.Becauseof thetransparenthinnessfthevellum,eachpaintings exactly uplicated,acktoback, n each vellum eaf.

Purchased n theBeinecke und.

10. Giovanni occaccio: a Teseide, renchlluminated anuscript.ca. 1475.Austrian ationalLibrary anuscripto. 2617 (fac-

simile).Perhaps heprettiestfgarden cenes nmedieval rt ppears n this ingle

pagefrom manuscriptytheunknownrtist f one of themost amous f allFrench lluminated anuscripts,ingRenéofAnjou'sLivredu coeurd'amour

épris. he Boccaccio ove scene s enactedn a settingworthyf a mille-fleurstapestry,ith arnations,oses, iolets,ndpinks ll easily ecognizablenboththegarden nd border.

GraphicArtsCollection.

11. Albrecht Dürer: Water-color drawing of an iris (collotype fac-

simile), ca. 1506.Several fthegreatmastersfRenaissancertmade ndividual lowertudies.

Leonardoda Vinci included everalfascinating rawings f plants in hisnotebooks,ndDürermadeseveral tudies fplants s preparationordetailsofhispaintings.he irisdisplayed erewas usedbyDürer forhispainting fthe Madonnawith he ris" n theNationalGallerynLondon.

GraphicArts ollection.

12. Herbarium, arborum, fruticum, frumentorum,ac leguminum

(Frankfort,546).YaleMedical istoricalibrary.ift fHarveyushing.

13. Ottovon Brunfels: reuterbuch . . (Frankfort,546).Thepopularityf imple erbáissbooks fremediesontinuedhroughout







Aiolà.

SD<l>t2'ufcolfFirpccflccîmf^ua^a*







LIBRARY GAZETTE 105

the ixteenthentury.

wo herbáis, oth ssued nFrankfortn 1546,representthe ontinuingraditionfthecasualcopying fcopies nmost arlywoodcut

herbáis,ongafter hefirst-handbservationfplants nsisted n byBrunfelsandFuchs.

14. Hans Weiditz: Water-color rawingmadein 1529 forBrunfels'Herbarium ivaeeicones.Facsimile rom ytz, flanzenaquarelledesHans Weiditz . . 1936.)

Graphicrts ollection.

15. Otto von Brunfels:Herbariumvivae eicones . . (Strassburg,1532).

The designs reated yHans WeiditzforBrunfels' erbarium repeerlessamong arly otanicalworks. heextraordinarilyeautiful ater olorsWeiditz

prepared or hewoodcuts f thisbookhavesurvived,ndrival hedraftsman-

shipofDürer,withwhomhis workhas often eenconfused. fine acsimileofone of thesewater olors, ortheplant orpine, s showntogether ith ts

correspondingoodcut. he Weiditz llustrationsre thefirstliving ortraitsofplants,"fBrunfels' atin itle,ndthese oth ensitivendvigoroustudies

area world emoved rom he slavish opying ftheearlierwoodcutherbáis.To the rtist's elight utthe cientificotanist's isapproval,Weiditzrecords

specific,ndividual ather han eneral,haracteristicsfhisplants,nd records

faithfullyorm-eatenrwilted eaves, rokentems ndroots, r thebeautifuleffectfwind-blownlants.

Yale MedicalHistorical ibrary. iftofHarveyCushing.

16. Leonhard Fuchs: De historiastirpiumcommentariinsignes(Basel, 1542).

The text fFuchs'greatherbal, s

inmost

fifteenth-ndsixteenth-centuryherbáis,s largely erived romDioscorides, ut in infinitely orescholarly

form. he illustrations,hile acking hegeniusofWeiditz, reofveryhighquality,nd re mpressivelyresentedhroughhe uperior rintingndtypog-raphy f Fuchs' Swissprinters.or once,credits or theillustrationsrenot

onlygiven, utgraphicallylorifiedn a fine ull-pagewoodcutdepicting heartists,Heinrich Füllmaurer nd AlbrechtMeyer,and the engraver, eit

Rudolph pecklin.YaleMedicalHistorical ibrary.

17. Leonhard Fuchs: De stirpiumhistoria . . (Basel, 1545).This s the o-called Little uchs,"with he amecuts s thefolio dition f

1542,reduced reatlyn size. The delicatelyxecutedwoodcuts retitledwiththenames ftheplants nLatin ndGerman.

YaleMedicalHistorical ibrary.







io6 THE YALE UNIVERSITY

18. BindingforLeonhardFuchs*De historia tirpium ommentarii

insignesLyons, .deTournes, 555).Thisbeautifulittle inding, ith tsvarietyf eaves nd flowersichlyold

tooledover the entire urface,s in thestyle f thesixteenth-centuryrenchbinderClovis Eve. The bindingwas speciallymade for PietroDuodo, theVenetian mbassadoro Paris n the atesixteenthentury.

YaleMedicalHistorical ibrary. ift fHarveyCushing.

III. The Seventeenth Century: Tulipomania-Engraved Illustration

Theloveofflowersevelopedo analmostnexplicableegreenthe owCountriesuringhe eventeenthentury.hisgrand assionoftheDutchforhorticultureasdramaticallyecordednboth heartandeconomic istoryftheperiod.n art, schoolof flowerpaintersmergedwhocreated series f "floral-baroque"till-lifeoil paintingsifficultomatch n thehistoryf artforrichnessftexturendtrompe oeïl ealism.n economic istory,heragefornewfloralpeciesmportedrom urkeyesultedna national ever,"Tulipomania."n the ealousdesire ornewand evermore xoticvarietiesftulipbulbs, Dutchhorticulturaltockmarketmerged,with antasticinancialpeculation,nflation,ndeconomic risis re-cipitatedy his neflower.







LIBRARY GAZETTE 107

In thegraphicrts,

he seventeenthentury

aw the decline fwoodcut nd theemergencefetchingndengravingn copper sthedominantechniqueor he llustrationfbooks.The engravedfrontispieceecamelmostbligatoryor ooks,nd lmost ll scien-tificllustration,ncludingotanical ooks, ookadvantage f theaddedprecisionndclarityffine etail ossiblewith heetched rengravedopperplate.

19. PhilipReinagle:"Tulips."Mezzotint nd aquatintprintby

Richard arlomfromThornton's empleof Flora (London,1805).The Tulipomaniaof seventeenth-centuryolland spreadto England,but

was somewhatmodifiedyEnglish atire n tulips nd theirfanciful ames.Addison,n The Tatler 1710), reports verhearing conversationetweentwo horticulturists:[I heard hemmention hat]the Crown of Francewas

veryweakbutthat heMarshallVillars tillkepthis colors.At lastoneof themsaidthat,ftheywouldgo alongwithhim,he wouldshowthem ChimneySweeper nd a PaintedLady n thesamebed,whichwouldverymuchpleasethem."

As late s thenineteenthentury,heEnglishwerenot mmune o a modifiedTulipomania. n thegrand "Tulips"colorplate fromThe Temple of Flora

maybe seenLouisXIV, GeneralWashington,heDuchessofDevonshire,ndEarlSpencer. tthis ime nEngland single ouis XIV bulbsoldfor s muchasfortyuineas.

LentbyMrs.Paul Mellon.

20. Crispine Passe heYounger: ortus loridusUtrecht,615).Thisengravedlorilegiums one of themost ttractivend influentialfall

early lower ooks.The cloistered arden f theengraved itle ncludesmanyfamiliar lowers, iththe central lower ed proudly lourishinghe muchfavoredulips. rispin e Passe, member f a celebratedamilyf Dutch en-gravers, as still veryyoungman when he created he Hortusfloridus.he

English oetThomasWood published heEnglish dition f Hortusfloridusshownhere.Wood prefaces is translation ith charmingcrostic oemontheartist's ame and concludeswithhis own favorableudgment f youngCrispin: You willconfesse ndgrauntwithmee,Thisyouth esearvesmuch

praise."LentbyMr. ndMrs.PaulMellon.

21. Maria Sybille Merrian: Metamorphoses insectorumSurinamen-sium. (Amsterdam,1705).

Seventeenth-centuryadyentomologists ere even rarer han adyartists,butMaria Merrianwas eminentn bothfields. he was also an adventurous







io8 THE YALE UNIVERSITY

ladyand in 1698 wentto Surinam Dutch Guiana) where she made the

drawings orthissplendidfoliovolume.The insects f Surinam re givenwonderfullyxotic otanicalettings,utMariaMerrian'scientificbservationis notalways ntirelyorrect. he handcolorings probably he workofherdaughter, ho accompanied ermother n theexpedition o Surinam, nd

usually idthe oloring f MariaMerrian's lates.Purchased n theJames ymanWhitney und.

22. Das kleine uch erTropenwunderLeipzig,nselVerlag, 943).A much reducedbutverywell-printed odern acsimile f theplatesof

MariaMerrian'sMetamorphoses.GraphicArts ollection.

23. Jan anHuysum: floweriece.MezzotintngravingyRichardEarlom.

An importantewengravingechniquewas developed n theseventeenthcentury,he tonalprocess fmezzotint.he process s a variation f intaglioengraving, iththeentire urface f thecopperplate roughened y specialtools, henburnishedarefullyn areas thatare intended o print n whiteorgray.A splendid xampleofmezzotints shownhere,byRichardEarlom

after ne oftheDutchflower iecesby JanvanHuysum.GraphicArts ollection.

24. Le Jardinierdu Pays-Bas (Brussels, 1672).This seventeenth-centurylemishgardenbook includes ectionsnot only

on all traditionallegant spectsof gardens pavilions, arterres,ountains,andarbors, utalso on theutilitarian ecessities f compostheapsand worktools.mmune romhanges ffashion,hegarden-tool oodcuts,nly lightlystreamlined,ouldserve o illustrate modernmail-orderatalogue.

25. JacobusanHuysumndGeorg hret:Water-colorrawingsflilacs.

Jacobus anHuysumwas a younger rother fone of themostfamous fDutchflower ainters, anvan Huysum. No. 23) Jacobus s theprincipalillustratorf two of thebotanicalfolios of thisexhibition JohnMartyn'sHistoria lantarumariorumNo. 32) and theCátalo usplantarumNo. 27).JacobuseftHollandto work t Chelsea forHoraceWalpole in copying hepaintings t Houghton.But after woyears his drunken issolute onductoccasionedhis beingdismissed"Walpole).

An example fJacobus' otanicalworkmaybe seenhere n one of a seriesofsix ofhisoriginalwater-colorrawings owatYale.The relatively rosaicquality fhisworkmaybe noticed n comparisonwithadditional rawingsthat retobediscoverednthe ame heets. hesemuchfiner enderingsfferan interestingiscovery:heminusculeignatures,estled n thegreen eaves







LIBRARY GAZETTE 109

likeminute eaf caterpillars,f GeorgEhret, he mostcelebrated otanical

illustratorf the ge.Gift fMrs.Wilmarth . Lewis.

26. JohnParkinson: Paridise in sole (London, 1629).Parkinson'satin title s a neatpun on his own name (Park in sun),and

the textthroughouteflects similardelightfullyavalier pirit, escribing"all sortsof pleasantflowerswhichour EnglishAyrewill permitto benourishedp."

Parkinsonwas thefirst nglish uthor o describe hetulipfully,nd helists

140varietiesall now madedenizens fourGardens,where

heyyieldus

moredelight nd more ncrease ortheir roportionhantheydid into theirownenaturals." e alsoreportshebulbs obe beneficialsmedicine, ine, nd

aphrodisiac.Purchasedn theAlbertH. ChildsMemorialFund.

IV. The Eighteenth Century: English Gardens

Color PrintingDutch influenceominated nglishbotanical rt of the early

eighteenthentury,ndmany fthe llustratorsorkingnLondonwere migresromHolland. n theactual ultivationfplants he







no THE YALE UNIVERSITY

Ageof Reason reatedhefamous ormal

ardensfthe

early igh-teenthentury.heperiodlso aw he evelopmentf andscape ar-deningsaprofession.Capability"rown ndHumphreyepton e-came hemostuccessfulf newbreed fgarden lanners.nscience,oneof themostfamous fbotanists,innaeus,reated is "SexualSystem"nwhichllplantsould egroupedccordingo thenumberand rrangementf heirtamensnd tyles. nyonebletocount pto20 could hus asily lassifylants,whichhelped oencouragevast ncreasen popularbotany, articularlymongyoung adies.

Thispopularityn turnmadepossiblehemeteoricise feighteenth-centuryorticulturists,urserymen,ndflorists.

Inthegraphicrts,quatint,tipplengraving,ndmezzotint eredevelopedntohighlykilledntaglioolor-printingechniqueshatproducedome fthemost eautifulfall botanicalrints.

27. Catalogus lantarumLondon, ocietyfGardeners,730).The Society f Gardenerswas a guild of horticulturistsrganized bout

1724topromoteheir wn andtheir ustomers'nterestnplants ndgardens.The Cataloguswas to be a seriesof fourvolumes,llustratedrincipally yJacobus anHuysum,nd etched r engraved yHenryFletcher nd ElishaKirkall.

The colored rontispieceadiates llegorical eace andplenty,nddisplaysa formal,lmostgeometric,oxwoodgarden hat s a triumphf thehedge-pruner'srtovernature.

Gift fMrs.Wilmarth .Lewis.

28. JohnHill: Exotic Botany (London, 1772).

JohnHill,likehis

botany,was both

exotic and ambitious. esidesgardenplanning nd dubiousscience,he practicedmedicine, cting,play writing,literature,nd scurrilousournalism. hristophermart, is journalisticor-respondent,ronounced im"Pimp! Poet! Paffer!Pothecary! layer!"

Hill's boundlessnergyndambition roduced hugebotanicalwork, heVegetable ystem,n twenty-sixhick oliovolumes,whichweighdowneightfolio helvesntheBeinecke ibrary.he illustrationsfHill'sbotanicalworksaredecorative,utoften ver maginative. ilfridBlunt uotesDr. Johnson'sdamning omment n Hill, that he was "an ingeniousman,but had noveracity."

29. Robert urber: welveMonths fFlowersLondon, 730).This avishfolio,much ought fter,nd all toooften roken p bymodern

interior ecorators,s in reality deluxeeighteenth-centuryeed catalogue.Furberwas a Kensington urserymanho employed heDutch artist eter







LIBRARY GAZETTE in

Casteels ocreate series fdrawingshowing he seasonalfavoritesvailableforeachmonth f theyear.Theyarepresentedn thegrandmanner f theDutchflower iecesofJanvanHuysum.Boundwiththis s a similar eriesofTwelveMonths fFruits.

Gift f Mr.andMrs.Wilmarth . Lewis.

30. Robert Furber: A Short Introduction to Gardening (London,

1733).This octavo volume s Furber's extual upplemento TwelveMonthsof

Flowers, rovidingeveral ndexes o the varieties f flowers nd fruit rees

ofEngland,ndgiving he timeoftheyear hey rebestplanted.31. Humphry Repton: Hints, plans and sketches for the improve-

ment of stonelands in Sussex. Manuscript sketchbook,1806.

Theeighteenthentury'shilosophicaleliefntherational ontrolfnaturehas an excellentmanifestationn the workof a lateeighteenth-centuryand-

scapegardener,umphry epton.Repton asuallymanipulatesandscape ikean omnipotenttagedesigner,movingtrees, hrubs, nd flowers,nd evenhills ndvalleys ocreate morefavorableRepton's)design.His suggestionsto hisclientsweredelineatedn a series fmanuscriptlbumswhichcontain

small ldout lyleafto show hebeforendafter iews.Gift fMissElizabethW. Manwaring.

32. John Martyn: Historia plantarum rariorum (London, 1728).The illustrationsy Jacobus anHuysumforthiswork re ofunusual n-

terest s an earlyEnglishexperimentn colorprinting. lisha Kirkall,the

engraverf theplates,has used a partialmezzotint rocess, ougheninghe

coppernonly hedark reas obe printedwith special oothed ouletteool.Colored nkswere hen aubed nly nto ppropriatereas.Wipedofall excessink, heplatewas then rintedwith heheavy ressuref an intaglio ress.

33. Pierre- oseph Redouté: Illustrations forAugustin Pyramus De-

candolle's Histoire naturelle des plantes grasses (Paris, Didot,

1799).Flower aintingnFrance t thecloseof theeighteenthenturyndin the

early ecades fthenineteenthenturyeached zenith fquality ndsplendornever ince urpassed. ndertheroyal atronage f Marie Antoinettendthe

Empress osephine,everal uperb llustratedotanicalworkswere created yGerard anSpaëndonck,ierre urpin, ndRedouté.

A new engraving echnique mportedfromEngland, tipple-engraving,proved deal forthesubtledetail and tonalshading f Redouté'swork.Thisprocess fengravingydotsrather han ineswasadaptedbyRedouté ndhisengraversntotheir wnspecialcolor-printingechnique, hich nvolved heuse of more thanone color of inkon one plate,appliedwith a dauberand

wiped, nd laterfinished ithwater-color ash. Redouté'sLilacées and his







112 THE YALE UNIVERSITY

morefamousRoses are amongthemostbrilliant xamples f intaglio olor

printingverproduced.

34. Pierre Turpin: Illustrations for Humboldt and Bonpland'sMimoses et autres plantes legumes du nouveau continent . . .

(Paris, 18 19).In a periodofmorebrilliant atural istoryrtists,ncluding udubon nd

Redouté, he workof PierreTurpinhas beenunjustly eglected. is works,perhapsnotquiteso effectives flower rints,retobe more ppreciated ortheir cientificbservation,articularlyn dissection etails.Goethemuch

admired hedrawings e sawby Turpin, ndregrettedhathe had notbeenabletohavehim llustrate is ownMetamorphoseerPflanzen.

V. The Nineteenth Century: Floral Sentimentand

FantasyIn additiono more erious cientificork Nos. 48-51), nine-

teenth-centuryook llustrationndgraphicrt reatednewpopularinterestn botany,nd botanical ecreationowbecame revailing







LIBRARYGAZETTE 113

fashion.ady ainters

fevery ge

and classopied

lowerrints

ndthe"Language fFlowers," urturedyVictorianentimentalism,became cult.

Asplendidolio ictureook fflowers,erhapshemost amousfallsuch lowerooks, aspublishedarlynthe entury:heTempleofFlora.Besides heir isual plendor,hecolorplates f this avishfolio rereplete ith he lassicalllusion, oetic xcess, arkmood,andexotic tmosphereharacteristicfnineteenth-centuryomanti-cism,ndmake heTemple fFlora he erfectraphicmanifestation

oftheromanticeriod.At lmosthe ame imehat heTemple fFlorawasbeingssued,lithography,chemical,lanographicrocessfprintingrom stonesurface,asdiscoverednGermany yAloisSeneflder 1796), andintroducedntoEngland yJohann ndré1801). Bythemiddle fthecenturyithographyadsupersededothwoodandintaglion-gravingechniquesndproducedeveralmasterworksf botanicalillustrationNo.48).

Photography,heultimatecientific

mage-makingrocessn the

graphicrts, asdiscoverednFrancen1826byNiepce.nEngland,as early s 1833,FoxTalbotdisplayed is own"Photogenicraw-ings" fflowersnd eaves s thefirstotanicalhotographs.n 1844Talbotpublishedomeof thesebotanicalpecimensn his famousThePencil fNature,he irsthotographicallyllustratedook.

35. MaryLawrance: CollectionfRosesfromNature London,1799)-

Thismodest,essthanmediocre, orkhas thedubiousdistinctionf almostcontinuous isapproval rom he botanicalcritics. n 1802 Roessigwrote:"Her botanicaldraughtsmanships mostly naccurate,nd she rarely akesnoticeof thecharacteristiceatures f a rose.The lighting f the leaves is

extremelyad, ndonlyhere ndthere necomes cross neortworoseswhichareunmistakablydentifiable."unthorne allsher eaves, meaningless et-works f ines,"ndBlunt rovideshenegativeapstonewith: MissLawrance,for etterr forworse,wasbyprofession teacher fbotanical rawing."

36. Alphonse Karr: Voyage autour de mon jardin (Paris, 185 1).

37. Eugène Nus: Drôleries vegetales . . . (Paris, 185 1).

38. AlbertJacquemart: Botanique des dames (Paris, 1840).Threerare nd attractivexamples fgilt-and-mosaicublishers'lothbind-








ings npopular

French otanicalworks. uchbindingsnjoyed

specialvogueduring hemiddle f thenineteenthentury.

GraphicArtsCollection. iftofMissEdithWetmore.

39. Flora's Lexicon (Boston, 1857).

40. The Language ofFlowers (Philadelphia, 1839).Thesesmalloctavosdevoted o the anguage f flowers erepublishedn

greatnumbersnEngland ndAmerica uring he nineteenthentury.Whiletrivial s botanical rt,they re interestings a manifestationf Victorian

romanticttitudes nd are fullof wonderfullywfulpoetry nd sentiment.Thesenaïve ittlebooks must lso be considered henineteenth-centuryib-liographicquivalent fthe nfinitelyore rtistic nd sophisticatedmblembooks of thesixteenth nd seventeenthenturies.

41. PhilipReinagle:TheNight-Blowingereus,with MoonlightbyPether,"ngravedyDunkarten.hilipReinagle: heSuperbLily, ngraved yRichard arlom.Platesfrom:RobertJohnThornton:heTemple fFlora London, 99-1807).

The writingsf Linnaeus nspired r. JohnThornton o commithimselftothehugepublishing enture hatwas tobringhimbothfame nd financialruin, heNew IllustrationftheSexualSystem fLinnaeus.The workwasissued npartsbetween 799 and 1807,with hebestartists ndengraversftheday ontributinghemagnificentolorplates. he thirdection fthisworkisentitledheTempleofFloraandcontains 2 plates. t is these olor-printedmezzotintngravingshathave earned thebook its fame. n theprefatory"Explorationfthepicturesque lates"Dr. Thorntonwrites: Eachscenerysappropriateo thesubject.Thus on theNight-Blowingereusyouhave themoonplaying n thedimpledwater, nd theturret-clock

ointsto XII, the

hourwhen his lowers in itsfullestxpanse . ." andconcludes is"explana-tion":". . . it is hopedthattherigidbotanistwill excusetheauthor,who,striving t universal pprobation, as thusendeavored o unite the 'UtileDulci.'"

In spiteof its ponderous ize and romantic ffectation,he Temple ofFloraemergess oneofthegraphicmonumentsfbothfine ookmakingndbotanicalllustrationfthenineteenthentury.

LentbyMrs.PaulMellon.

42.Robert

JohnThornton:The Temple ofFlora,orGardenoftheBotanist, oet,Painter ndPhilosopherLondon,1812).This is a rare dition,n a smaller ize and with complete e-engravingf

thecolorplates, ssued hortlyfter hefolioedition.Given nmemoryfRachelMcMasters untbyher onRichardM.Hunt.







LIBRARY GAZETTE 115

43.TheJournal

fDesignnd

ManufacturesMarch-August,849)Realistic loralmotifs ecameparticularlyrominentn theapplieddesignof thenineteenthentury.abricshavealwayshad floral atterns,utusuallymore bstractedndstylizedhanthey ppear n thenear-infiniteardage fVictorian alicoes nd muslins.

44. Walter Crane: Color woodcut wallpaper.

45. Walter Crane: A Floral Fantasy (London, 1899).The artnouveau tyle fthe1890s,particularlys it is seen n someof the

designsfWilliamMorris nd Walter

Crane,s almost

ompletely atternedon botanicalmotifs.n his Bases ofDesign,Craneacknowledges is debttohistoricalotanicalllustration.n original rawing or heendpapers orhisA FloralFantasynda section f a wallpaper rint hownheredemonstrateisaffectionateeliancenhisarton theflower orld.

Gift fMrs.Catharine inker atterson.

46. Edward ear:Nonsense ongs, tories, otany ndAlphabets(London, 871).

Lear's "NonsenseBotany" s a delightfulpoofof theLatin nomenclature

of botany,withsuchphenomenal pecimens s "Phattfacia tupenda" nd"Manypeeplia psidownia."

47. JeanGrandville:esFleursniméesParis, 847).The coloredtitlepage of Grandville's loral antasyuggests he "Many-

peeplia Upsidownia" f Lear's "NonsenseBotany." he world of Grandvilleismore urrealistichan atirical, owever,ndbelongsn the urreal raditionofthebizarre ruit-and-vegetableortraitsfArcimboldind theChinoiserieflowersfPillement.

Gift fMiss EdithWetmore.

48. James ateman: rchidaciaefMexico ndGuatemalaLondon,1837-41).

This is oneof thefinestfthebotanical ooksproducedn lithography.charmingwoodcut,"The Librarian'sNightmare," y George Cruikshanksatirizes hegigantic ize of thisfoliovolume.

49. Thomas Moore: The Ferns ofGreat Britainand Ireland (London,

1855).Nature-printedyHenry radbury.

50. Vienna Imperial Printing Office: Examples of Nature-Printing(Vienna, 1853).

"Natureprinting" printing rom ctualplants hasbeenattemptedincethefifteenthentury.he techniquewasconsiderablyefinednthenineteenth







ii6 THE YALE UNIVERSITY

centuryhena

platewas created

y passinghe

plantbetween

latesof soft

lead and steel.The impressioneceived ythe ead was thengalvanized,reat-ing an electrotype. enryBradbury, hoproduced heplatesforThe FernsofGreatBritain, rote treatisenthehistorynd method fnature-printing.

Gift f theOsbornBotanical ibrary.

51. The Botanical Magazine (London, 1787-1968).The first nd most famous f journals elated o botanywas founded y

WilliamCurtis fter hefinancial ailure fhisFloraLondinensis.he maga-zine was a greatmonetaryuccess, nd Curtisremarked f his experience,"one

broughtme

pudding,and the ther

raise."he

longife f

theBotanicalMagazinemakes tan excellenturveyf thegraphic rts fitsperiod s wellas ofbotany. he illustrationsf thefirst olumeexhibitedwere created yhand-coloredineengraving, hichwas useduntil1845.The second xampleshows hehand-colorithographyseduntil 948.Thethird electionepresentsfour-coloralf one the east atisfactoryfcolor-printingechniques. our-colorgravure asbeenusedsince1949.

Theearly olumes hown re fromhe ibraryfJohnRuskin.Volumes aterthan1821 are from heKline ScienceCenter ibrary.

52. JeanMorelle:Art

ouveau inding.aris, 888.Gift fSusanDwightBliss.

53. Gustav Kolb: Von derPflanzezum Ornament (Göttingen, 1900).Thepreferenceor traightrcurvedine,geometricalrfloralmotif,denti-

fies the decorative esignof many periods.This lithographedreatise n"Plants s Ornament"emonstratesheheavy eliance fthe rtnouveau tyleofthe urn fthe enturynthe urvilinearorms fthe lantworld.








LIBRARY GAZETTE 117

VI. The Orient

The ntensedentificationf heOrient ith aturemade lantsndnaturalcenerysimportantothe rt ndphilosophyftheChineseasanthropomorphicnspirationastothe rt ftheGreeks. rientalgraphicrts lso reflecthis mphasis,utwith ar reateroncernorbeautyf formnd themetaphysical eaningf man'splace nthenatural orld,han obotanicalcience.

54. WoodcutromheTen-Bamboo-Studio.A series f colorwoodcuts nown s themanuals fThe Ten-Bamboo-Studio

and theMustard-Seed-Gardenerecreated ytheChinese oward he endofthe seventeenthentury.hesewere ntended s instruction anuals n theart ofpainting irds nd flowers. amboo,with ts Buddhist onnotationfresilience nder tress, as a favoriteubject.

LentbyDale Royance.

55. Chêng-yenHu: Letterpapers.Chinese woodcutwithgauffrage.hese note papers created n the late

eighteenthenturyonstitute pictorial urvey f Chinesedecorativemotifs,includingmany fplant ife.


56. Hokusai:Mangwa. olorwoodcut.The Mangwawas an encyclopedicketchbookreatedby the masterof

JapaneseUkyo-Ye,Hokusai,to illustratevery spectof daily ife in nine-

teenth-centuryapan. he volume llustratingloweringrees s shownhere.


57. Hiroshige:ield f ris.Colorwoodcut.The color woodcuts f Japanoffer ne of the mostrewardingreas ofinterestn thehistoryf thegraphic rts.Nearlyall aspectsof humanex-

perience rebeautifullyelineatednd colorprinted romwoodblocksbytheartistsnd artisans f thisJapanese ineteenth-centuryrt.A graphicmaster-

pieceof theperiod, tamaro's lowers nd nsects ontains articularlyeauti-ful loralubjects.

LentbyDale Royance.

58. Bindingdoublure. Lacquer painting.

Iran, ineteenthentury.

59. Hafiz: Diwan (Iran, 1531).The great ontrastf desert nd gardensmade flowers ichly ynonymous

withbeautynPersian rt.Persian arpets, lazedtiles, ndilluminatedmanu-







ii8 THE YALE UNIVERSITY

scriptsll relied

heavilyn floralmotifs,nd

accordingolegendhelped

to

giveto dwellers f a desert nvironmentt least thevicarious atisfactionffloweringardens.

LentbyThomasE. Marston.

VII. The Twentieth Century

Fivecenturiesfterhewoodcut erbal,heplantworld ontinuestobean inspirationothemakersfbooks ndprints.xamples fmodern erbáismaybe seen nThomas assam'sHerbariumor heFair (No. 67) and EstherBaskin's The Poppy and OtherDeadlyPlants (No. 63). A water-colorrawingbya recentYale graduate,LanceHidy, sdirectlynspired yfifteenth-centuryerbal llustration(No. 69). Farfrom eing nachronisticrreactionary,hese ndmanyother wentieth-centuryraphics reexciting roofofthecontinuing

beauty ndvitalityftheartofbotanical llustration.60. Archibald horburn:Water-colortudy.

Thorburnas naturalistest nownor iswater-colorenderingsfbirds.In hisornithologicalabitatcenes,ndoccasionaltill ifes, e alsopaintedveryttractiveotanicalubjects.

CoeOrnithologicalollection.

61 Clare eighton:oppiesndPoppy ods.Originalwood-engravedlocks ndproofs. he art fwood-engraving,rom

ThomasBewick toReynolds toneand ClareLeighton, asproved graphicmedium articularlyongenial ornatural istory.lareLeighton as createdmany ffectiveotanical llustrationsorher ownbookson countryndfarmlife.

Lentby he rtist.







Scrçphularíaomitalis.







I2O THE YALE UNIVERSITY

62. WilliamDallimore: oisonous lants, eadly,Dangerous ndSuspectLondon, urwen ress, 927).

Woodngravingsy ohnash.Graphicrtsollection.

63. Esther askin: hePoppy ndOther eadlyPlantsNewYork,Delacorte ress, 967).

This recentherbalofnoxiousplants s fullof curiousbotanical acts ndlegends. he drawingsllustratingheplants rethe workofLeonardBaskin.

Giftof Mr. andMrs.KennethNesheim.

64. Leonard askin: riginalngravedoodblock,Winter rasses."(NewYear'sGreeting) 952.

65. Leonard askin:Woodcuts fthistlesndplants, 957.

66. Leonard askin:Unpublishedrawingsor Gehenna ress di-tion fEmily ickinson'siddle oems, 965.

LeonardBaskin,whilenotedforhisuncompromisingraphic tatementsfdeformity,isease, nddeath, s also capableofvery yrical tudies fgrassesandthistles.


67. Thomas assam:Herbariumor heFair.Being BookofCom-monHerbswith tchingsyBettyhaw-Lawrence.ogether ithCurious otes nTheirHistoriesnd Uses or heFurtherancefLovelinessndLove London, andandFlower ress, 949).

Graphicrtsollection.

68. RainerMariaRilke:LesRosesParis, 949).Rilke'sseriesof poemson roses s illustratedy twenty-fivenusualand

very legant tchingsfthis ristocratfflowers.Yale Collection fGermanLiterature.

69. LanceHidy:Pen-and-inkndwater-colorrawingf crophulariaOrientalis,ewHaven, 967.

70. AndrewMarvell: heGarden. esigned,llustratedndPrintedbyLanceHidy NewHaven,Bibliographicalress, aleUniver-

sity ibrary,968).The GraphicArtsCollection f theYale Universityibraryommissionedthismodern ditionof one of themosteffective f Marvell'spoems.Theartist, anceHidy,Yale 1968, s nowspending year tudying ithLeonardBaskin t hisGehennaPress n Northampton, assachusetts.







/';-=09 )(8*=-0/']








71. EliotPorter:n Wildness s thePreservationftheWorld (SanFrancisco,ierraClub,1962); ForeverWild:theAdirondacks(NewYork,HarperndRow,1966); Summersland:PenobscotCountrySanFrancisco,ierra lub,1966).

A recenteries fbookson natural istoryasbeencreated rom hephoto-graphs f EliotPorter. heymanage o convey oththeunexpeced eauty fwildplants nd thephotographer'sove of these ubjects.

An inexpensivedition f thesebookshas also beenpublished,n reducedformatnd on non-glossyaper,with ometimesmproved ffect.

72. Thomas Brown: Color Photographs of Orchids. Black and whitestudiesof eaves.

Mr. Brown s currentlyn instructornphotographyntheGraphicDesignprogramftheYaleSchool fArt ndArchitecture.

Documents

Roylance the Art of Botanical Illustration Checklist of an Exhibition