Altogether the Warren H. Corning Collection of Horticultural Classics features over 3700 original drawings and paintings. While many of these are by some of the most famous botanical painters such as Ehret and Redouté, others are by unknown hands. It is the work of these anonymous or little known artists that forms the basis for this month’s exhibit.
We begin with a pair of eighteenth century works believed to have been painted in the north of Italy. The first of these is a truly anonymous three volume compilation somewhat incongruously identified by a binder’s title of Herbier Colorié. The 300 elegant full-page illustrations of plants painted in oddly compelling dark, but muted, colors are on paper watermarked 1742, while the accompanying manuscript Latin inscriptions are on paper dated 1777, suggesting that this version of the text was added some years later.
Our second Northern Italian work is entitled Erbario di Numero 400 Piante Fatti per Impressione, and was produced in Friuli in the eighteenth century by an author-artist identifying himself as Pietro del Torre del Fu Giulio, which is all that we know about him. Although this is not strictly speaking an anonymous collection, we have included it in the display as a contrast with the preceding work. The 400 paintings in the single volume are at once both more delicate in thinness of line, but cruder than those in the preceding three volumes. The manuscript descriptions of the plants, however, are often more detailed than in the preceding work.
Returning to truly anonymous works, the next item on display features 101 handsome colored drawings of Chinese shrubs and flowers with Chinese characters at the bottom. The collection is believed to date from between 1830 and 1840. The only to its history is the engraved bookplate of Winifred Bois.
The volume misleadingly titled "Canadian Weeds" on its spine features 34 anonymous and unlabeled paintings of North American flowers believed to have been painted ca. 1797. Nothing is known about the artist and the only hints to its provenance consist of the gilt initials S.D. on the front cover of the red morocco binding and the bookplate of George Tancred of Weens and Arden.
We go from it to another anonymous collection of 130 paintings of wildflowers each identified in manuscript with the scientific and common names and accompanied by a hand-written index. These are believed to have been painted in England ca. 1840 to 1850.
Our final volume on display contains 89 botanical paintings, most of which have their scientific names written on them. This is the most anonymous of our anonymous works since there is nothing indicating when, where, or by whom they were painted no any information on their provenance. They have a bold feel to them which is reminiscent of nineteenth to early twentieth century illustration.
This is the text of the exhibit on display in the rare book room of the Warren H. Corning Library and Visitor Center of The Holden Arboretum, 9500 Sperry Road, Kirtland, Ohio from February 3 through March 2, 1999.The exhibit may be viewed from the library Tuesday through Friday from 10 am to 4:45 pm and on weekends when the library is open. For more information on The Arboretum rare book collection click here.
Stanley Johnston, Curator of Rare Books