Happy Arbor Day!

As The Morton Arboretum gears up for our upcoming Arbor Day celebration, I began to think about some of the remarkable aspects of the Library’s collections focusing on trees. From our special collections, I’ve recently been consulting Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau’s Traite des Arbres et Arbustes qui se cultivent en France en pleine terre published in Paris in 1755. Duhamel’s work describes over 1,000 trees and is illustrated with 250 woodcuts. Curiously, most of these woodcuts were originally used to illustrate Mattioli’s works printed in Prague in 1562 and 1563. (Our modern 21st century motto of “recycle and reuse” seems to have a much more ancient origin!) Many of the outstanding examples of woodcut botanical illustrations found in these volumes were created by Giorgio Liberale and Wolfgang Myerpeck with some slight alterations made by Duhamel. When published, this two volume set was the definitive work on trees in France.

What are some other tree-related jewels in our collections? Wherever I turn my gaze whether it is spying out the window on the Arboretum grounds, examining a rare book, wandering through our children’s collection, paging through our nursery catalog collection or viewing some of the artwork on exhibit in the Library, I am immersed in a world of trees and woody plants. In addition to the bold enlarged photo images from Jacob G. Strutt’s Sylva Britannica (published in 1826) over the fireplace in the Library’s Reading Room, there are two specially commissioned original works of art permanently on display. Funded by the Arboretum’s Employee Giving Program, an amazing watercolor on vellum by Kate Nessler of an early woodland scene (entitled Ground Level, Spring) is presented along with Ann Farrer’s watercolor color on paper of Juniperus oxycedrus. Wow! There is an abundance to absorb and be inspired by in the Sterling Morton Library. As you head out to take part in Arbor Day festivities, stop by the Library and prepare to be dazzled by the images, words and ideas about trees!

If you are interested to learning about resources within the Sterling Morton Library exploring the history of Arbor Day and the day’s founder J. Sterling Morton, father of the Arboretum’s founder, please view my earlier blog posting.

Happy Arbor Day!