★ 12/01/2014 This richly informative, visually stunning book showcases illustrations from the vast collection of printed matter housed at the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden. With chapters written by international scholars in botanical science, it includes beautifully detailed images printed on heavy matte paper, an overview of botanists’ contributions to science, and a history of horticulture, garden design, and the rise of color illustrations in botanical publications and marketing materials. The plated images reproduce a variety of media ranging from early watercolors and engravings to the “flamboyant peak” of seed-catalogue illustrations in 1890. The book closes with a detailed chapter on the construction of the New York Botanical Garden, showing blueprints, maps, and aerial photographs. This enchanting collection is a comprehensive resource on the history, science, and art of botany, and an object of beauty in itself. (Dec.)
"Flora Illustrata is a treat for the eyes."—Julie Lasky, New York Times "Both handsome and informative. . . . I only wish the book were even longer."—Dominique Browning, New York Times Book Review "Bound to delight your favorite gardener."—Vogue "Richly informative, visually stunning. . . . This enchanting collection is a comprehensive resource on the history, science, and art of botany, and an object of beauty in itself."—Publishers Weekly , Starred Review"Flora Illustrata will inspire in readers an new appreciation for the extraordinary history of botany and its far-reaching connections to the worlds of science, books, art, and culture."—Journal of Antiques and Collectibles "Flora Illustrata serves up a cornucopia of delights from the shelves of the magnificently named LuEsther T. Mertz Library . . . A fascinating miscellany and an inducement to read more on the topics, and a serious temptation to hop on a plane and visit the library, and gardens, in person."—Gardens Illustrated "There are sumptuous illustrations and essays throughout that you'll want to return to again and again. It is, quite simply, a book you'll treasure forever."—Garden Design Online "Presents some of the most rigorous, as well as the strangest and most beautiful, forms of scientific investigation into plants and gardens . . . The botanists' and horticulturalists' arts are well represented here, as are the commerce of plants and the myriad expressions of European garden and estate design, but the focus remains on plant life, in all its exquisite and unsettling glory."—Landscape Architecture "A gift sure to please the gardener who also is a history buff."—Star-Ledger "Whether you read it as an enlightening study, use it to add pizzazz to your home’s design or model your own garden on it using the classic layouts, Flora Illustrata will delight all who have an appreciation for flowers."—Romantic Homes Winner of the 2015 American Horticultural Society's Book AwardWinner of the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Annual Literature Award for 2015"Equally a feast for the mind and the eyes."—Oliver Sacks"The LuEsther T. Mertz Library is unquestionably one of the great treasures of the world. Flora Illustrata reveals with stunning scholarship the deeply intertwined history of plants, science, and humanity. Rich and fascinating beyond imagination and now accessible to anyone. A triumph of a book."—Thomas E. Lovejoy, George Mason University"As a synthetic grouping, Flora Illustrata is an important and useful contribution. The essays are rich, and are accompanied by some wonderful illustrations. This is a lavish book, successful in its objectives, and useful to a wide audience."—Daniel Lewis, Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens"An erudite and sumptuous exploration of the timeless fascination of people with plants, which along the way reveals the origins of one of the world's great botanical gardens."—Peter Crane, author of Ginkgo: The Tree That Time Forgot "The LuEsther T. Mertz Library at the New York Botanical Garden is surely the greatest research botanical library in the world, a precious repository of knowledge from cultures all over the world and spanning from the 12th century to the 21st. Plants—from which we ultimately derive all of our food, building materials, and medicines—are also a source of great beauty and wonder. Flora Illustrata celebrates all this, and speaks of an intimate relationship between art and science. It is equally a feast for the mind and the eyes."—Oliver Sacks
Winner of the Council on Botanical andHorticultural Libraries Annual Lterature Award for 2015.
Council on botanical and Horticultual Libraries - Annual Literature Award for 2014
"Whether you read it as an enlightening study, use it to add pizzazz to your home’s design or model your own garden on it using the classic layouts, Flora Illustrata will delight all who have an appreciation for flowers."—Romantic Homes
Winner of the 2015 American Horticultural Society's Book Award.
American Horticultural Society - Book Awards
"A gift sure to please the gardener who also is a history buff."—Star-Ledger
"Presents some of the most rigorous, as well as the strangest and most beautiful, forms of scientific investigation into plants and gardens . . . The botanists' and horticulturalists' arts are well represented here, as are the commerce of plants and the myriad expressions of European garden and estate design, but the focus remains on plant life, in all its exquisite and unsettling glory."—Landscape Architecture
"Bound to delight your favorite gardener."—Vogue
"Both handsome and informative . . . . I only wish the book were even longer."—Dominique Browning, New York Times Book Review
New York Times Book Review - Dominique Browning
Flora Illustrata is a treat for the eyes."—Julie Lasky, New York Times
New York Times - Julie Lasky
"There are sumptuous illustrations and essays throughout that you'll want to return to again and again. It is, quite simply, a book you'll treasure forever."—Garden Design Online
"Flora Illustrata serves up a cornucopia of delights from the shelves of the magnificently named LuEsther T. Mertz Library . . . A fascinating miscellany and an inducement to read more on the topics, and a serious temptation to hop on a plane and visit the library, and gardens, in person."—Gardens Illustrated
"Flora Illustrata will inspire in readers an new appreciation for the extraordinary history of botany and its far-reaching connections to the worlds of science, books, art, and culture."—Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
An erudite and sumptuous exploration of the timeless fascination of people with plants, which along the way reveals the origins of one of the world's great botanical gardens.”Peter Crane, author of Ginkgo: The Tree That Time Forgot
As a synthetic grouping, Flora Illustrata is an important and useful contribution. The essays are rich, and are accompanied by some wonderful illustrations. This is a lavish book, successful in its objectives, and useful to a wide audience.”Daniel Lewis, Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens
The LuEsther T. Mertz Library is unquestionably one of the great treasures of the world. Flora Illustrata reveals with stunning scholarship the deeply intertwined history of plants, science, and humanity. Rich and fascinating beyond imagination and now accessible to anyone. A triumph of a book.”Thomas E. Lovejoy, George Mason University
The LuEsther T. Mertz Library at the New York Botanical Garden is surely the greatest research botanical library in the world, a precious repository of knowledge from cultures all over the world and spanning from the 12thcentury to the 21st.Plantsfrom which we ultimately derive all of our food, building materials, and medicinesare also a source of great beauty and wonder.Flora Illustrata celebrates all this, and speaks of an intimate relationship between art and science. It is equally a feast for the mind and the eyes.”Oliver Sacks
11/15/2014 This work achieves its editors' aim—to inspire in the reader an appreciation for the history of botany and its connections to art and science. Through its lavish depictions of illustrated manuscripts, botanical renderings, maps, and plans for gardens drawn from the collection of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Gardens and essays authored by 11 experts, the impressive tome shares eight centuries of research and knowledge in the library's collection about horticulture, printing and publishing, and exploration. This collection began in 1885 when Henry Hurd Rusby of Columbia College started collecting plants in South America. When he returned to the United States with his specimens, he realized he did not have the resources needed to identify them. Thus began both the garden and the library. The research behind each chapter is supported by endnotes. In addition to the index and select bibliography, the title includes contributors' backgrounds. VERDICT A wonderful title for the botanist and layperson—anyone who appreciates the aesthetic beauty of books, plants, and gardens.—Nancy J. Mactague, Aurora Univ. Lib., IL