In celebration of summer, Assouline evokes the beauty of the
garden in a remarkable gift-volume. Including more than three
centuries of drawings culled from the rare books library of the
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, each page in Botanicals
explodes with rich colours and lifelike details. Exquisite flowers,
delicate fuits, and exuberant butterflies are among the jewels of
nature that come to life in this unique compendium. Featured are
works by leading botanical artists, including Maria Sibylla Merian,
a rfevolutionary female entomologist and natural historian of the
seventeeth century; E.A. Seguy, whose art nouveau-era work serves
as inspiration for many contemporary creative directors and
designers; and Dr Robert John thornton, a British visionary
renowned for his inerest in botany. Botanicals is extraordinary, a
remarkable objet d''art in the spirit of the season. AUTHOR: Leslie
K. Overstreet is the curator of Natural-History Rare Books at the
Smithsonian Institution. She has published bibliographical articles
in the journal Archives of Natural History and lectures on various
natural-history subjects. ILLUSTRATIONS 250 illustrations