Rare book cataloging can require some detective work. A recent case for me involved a record of ancient coins in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford, transferred to the Smithsonian’s Dibner Library for cataloging from the National Museum of American History’s National Numismatic Collection. This is also a tale of how a book can reveal unexpected histories.
Tag: Gardens
In honor of Earth Day and National Garden Month, we take a look at one of the lesser known influences in the seed and garden business – the Shaker community.
Today is National Watermelon Day. Here are some virtual melons for you to savor until you can get the real thing …
While the Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL) comprises 20 branch libraries, some branch collections naturally overlap when meeting the needs of their library users. That’s the situation with one of our art libraries, the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum Library located in New York City, and one of our science libraries, the Botany and Horticulture Library located in Washington D.C. It may surprise you to learn both collect books and journals on landscape design and history and the decorative arts.
To keep the holiday mood going, a patriotic-themed seed catalog from 1898, Vaughan's Seed Store Autumn Bulbs and Plants. —Elizabeth Periale
Maybe Katherine Hepburn was talking about calla lilies, but this image from E.L. Sturtevant's Catalogue of Rare Water Lilies, 1881, from the trade literature collection at the National Museum of American History Library more »