Spring Flowers

The current exhibit features a selection of illustrations of Spring flowers from the Warren H Corning Collection of Horticultural Classics.

As Winter draws to a close, our attention is often caught by the catalogues of plants arriving in our mailboxes. The first book on display is an early plant catalogue called simply Florilegium (a gathering of flowers). It was compiled by Emanuel Sweert, a Dutch nurseryman, who was at one time prefect of the gardens to Emperor Rudolf II. Its engravings illustrate the plants and bulbs which the author offered for sale both at his shop in Amsterdam and at his booth at the Frankfurt Fair. Editions of the catalogue date from at least 1612, and may date as far back as 1609, since that is the date of the earliest privilege. The issue on display features a first part dating from 1620 and a second part dating from 1614.

Tulips are featured in Pierre Joseph Buc'hoz's Collection Coloriée des Plus Belles Variétés de Tulipes from 1781. The illustrations are hand-colored engravings.

A magnificent plate of hyacinths in a combination of hand-painting, engraving, etching and color aquatint by Warner after Sydenham Edwards provides our next exhibit which is from Robert Thornton's New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus von Linnaeus with a title page date of 1807.

Since not all Spring flowers are cultivated, due respect must be paid to the wildflowers. In this hand-colored engraving by Mark Catesby from the third edition published in 1771 of his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, we see this interesting image of a Pennsylvania lady's slipper almost overcome by the accompanying bullfrog. According to the text, the image was taken from a plant growing in Collinson's garden that was originally sent to England by John Bartram.

For contrast, it is followed by this anonymous original painting of another type of lady's slipper dating from around 1797 in a collection bearing the unprepossessing binder's title of Canadian Weeds.

A Spring bouquet of crocus, hyacinth, and primrose by Antoine Pascal highlight this color lithograph from a unique collection done around 1830.

The late flowering Spring plants are represented by our final exhibit, a color stipple engraving of Iris germanica by de Gouy after an original by Pierre Joseph Redouté from volume six of the latter's Les Liliacées (1802-1816).

This is the text of an exhibit which may be viewed in the Rare Book Room at the back of the Warren H. Corning Library in the Warren H. Corning Library and Visitor Center of The Holden Arboretum, 9500 Sperry Road, Kirtland, Ohio from 10 AM to 4:45 PM Tuesdays through Fridays, and during such weekend hours as the library may be open, from April 5 through May 2, 2000.

Stanley Johnston, Curator of Rare Books, The Holden Arboretum