A pomological tribute to Spring Break

As the campus grows quiet during the approach of Spring Break, I attempt a minor spring cleaning of my office. A week away means judicious selection of what can be fit into my bookbag and which books must be returned to the circulation counter. One item that must be returned is called Celebrating Research: rare and special collections from the membership of the Association of Research Libraries (editors, Philip N. Cronenwett, Kevin Osborn, Samuel A. Streit ; introduction by Nicolas Barker. Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries, c2007). It is a nice bit of library history, each of the 50 ARL libraries contributed an essay and supporting images of rare/unusual items in their respective Special Collections/Rare Books. I was happy to see the essay by Dr. Patrick Scott of the University of South Carolina, describing the very Audubon Birds of America folio volumes I have myself seen in the Graniteville Room.

The item I wanted to write about comes from the introduction of this book, a very nice overview itself of the collections described in detail in the rest of the book. Nicolas Barker provides a list of highlights, including the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection.

Pomological? I had never seen this world before. In conjunction with the Library of the US Department of Agriculture? And Watercolors? What could this possibly mean?

Searching ensues...yes! It has been digitized! Here's the description of the collection from the website:

"In 1886, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) established the Division of Pomology to oversee the collection and distribution of new varieties of fruits, and to disseminate information to fruit growers and breeders. Since the use of scientific photography was uncommon at the time, the USDA commissioned artists to create technically accurate illustrations of newly introduced cultivars. In 1887, William H. Prestele was appointed artist for the Division of Pomology.

Today, the collection of approximately 7,700 watercolors is preserved in NAL's Special Collections, where it serves as a major historic and botanic resource to a variety of researchers, including horticulturists, historians, artists, and publishers. Selected images from the collection are also on permanent exhibition on the first floor of the library.

The exhibit presented here consists of approximately 300 images of fruit watercolors. All of the fruit varieties featured in the exhibit were introduced and described in the Report of the Pomologist between 1886 and 1900. The actual watercolors of the varieties may not have been completed until sometime after the report publication. The exhibit selections are arranged under the common fruit names listed below and by the USDA artist."

A quick hop into the Oxford English Dictionary online reveals:

Pomology: The branch of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of fruit.

Delightful! I know a new word, and a delightful archive of watercolors of botanical illustration!

Now, to get back to clearing off my desk...Happy Spring Break everyone!

Illustration: Deborah Griscom Passmore, Prunus avium "Schmidt Bigarreau" 1895. An interesting biographical essay on this artist is available here: http://www.nal.usda.gov/speccoll/collectionsguide/passmore/124ExtBio.pdf