DANIEL SOLANDER BOTANICAL LIBRARY - Oct 25
On the hottest day of the year so far, 22nd October, 15 members of the Gardening Group were given a rare treat in a 2 hour talk at the Daniel Solander Botanical Library in the Botanical Gardens in the city.
It is a unique repository of horticultural and botanical knowledge dating from 1852. The library keeps up to date with the latest research and publications as well as maintaining its historical collections.
We were given a detailed look into many of the books dating back to the mid-16th century. The librarian, Miguel Garcia, has worked in the library for 30 years and manages the 250,000-book collection. He is an engaging and passionate guide, and we were enthralled by the books he showed us and the generosity in giving our group so much of his time.
Two notable books were “On the Origin of Species (1859)” - Charles Darwin’s rare 1st edition (inscribed by Darwin!) and Joseph Bank’s “Florilegium”, a set of 743 coloured plates from original engravings of specimens collected on Captain Cook’s first voyage. Another was Margaret Flockton’s original botanical illustrations. She was the first botanical illustrator employed by the Botanical Garden. There were so many more.
Daniel Solander, a Swedish botanist, was an assistant and close friend of Joseph Banks. He is little known today except in the Botanical world. His works were not published, probably because of his premature death at the age of 25.
The librarian, Miguel Garcia, was so informed and passionate about the libraries 250,000 books
We were overwhelmed by the extent and depth of Miguel’s knowledge, and the passion he shows for his work was very infectious. All in all, a fantastic visit.
Being such a hot day, many of us headed for home, whilst a few did stay for lunch at the library.
