![]() ![]() Mellon Foundation, an organization based in New York City that creates grants for the areas of higher education, performing arts, populations, public affairs, environmental conservation, and museums and art conservation. ![]() The project was funded by a $200,000 grant of the Andrew W. ![]() 51 ( Anacardium occidentale L., cashew) From: Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen mit kurz erläuterndem Texte : Atlas zur Pharmacopoea germanica (1887), by Franz Eugen Köhler, Volume 3 of 3. Illustration of ANACARDIUM occidentale L. A special cradle was also built for the project, designed to hold books open for scanning without damaging the spine. Later, outside funding made it possible to use better equipment, large digital cameras and light platforms. When the digitalization program was started in 1996 as an in-house project at the MBG, digital images were created by scanning normal photographs of the pages. Copies of the files are uploaded onto the MBG website where they are indexed and ready to be browsed through by the public. Once the scanned images have been touched up, they are "burned" onto a CD-ROM disk. Minor changes to colors and tone balance were the only alterations made to the digital images. The MBG wanted to treat the scanned images as artifacts themselves, so the damage to the original was not ignored. "Repairs" done to the digital versions of the books were minimal. If a book needs extensive work, however, it is sent to a private bookbinder in St. Loose pages and broken bindings are being repaired by a restoration laboratory at the garden itself. ![]() Some books in the MBG collection are being restored as well as digitized. Having the volumes in digital form decreases the damage caused by handling the books: stresses on binding and oils from skin on the pages and prints. The Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) library is working to preserve these rare books and make them available to people worldwide. From the mid-1700s to the early-1800s, paper was made from rag linen, which has less acid and lignins than paper made from wood pulp, making it more durable. By 1880, paper used in books was much like cheap newsprint, and time has yellowed their pages, faded the illustrations, and made them fragile to the touch.Ĭuriously, some of the older books are in the best condition. While this type of paper was cheaper, making it possible for more people to buy them, it also meant that the books wouldn’t last as long. In the mid-19th century, book and newspaper publishers began using paper made with wood pulp, like the books today. Ownership of the books is once again restricted, limited to collectors and institutions, those who have the resources to find, buy, and preserve books that are often damaged over time. Much can be learned from these books, but now it is the history of botany and taxonomy that they help impart, not new discoveries. In some ways, the roles of these classic botanical texts have not changed. 9 ( Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All., Roman chamomile) From: Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen mit kurz erläuterndem Texte : Atlas zur Pharmacopoea germanica (1887), by Franz Eugen Köhler, Volume 3 of 3. Also, they had an exotic air to them, as most of the plants and places discussed in them were from parts of the world that were difficult, if not impossible, to travel to. However, because the cost of these books was very high when they were created, libraries were rare and a status symbol. But that does not mean that the old ways are not still appreciated.īotanical books and illustrations were created for education and training purposes, as they contained information on newly discovered and rare plants as well as common plants. Now, cameras have replaced pens and pencils, and webpages and glossy field guides have taken over from large, hardbound volumes. Artists and plant enthusiasts would visit greenhouses or tromp out into a plant’s native habitat and draw from a live specimen. In the 18th and 19th centuries, however, it required paper and pen, or perhaps watercolors. Capturing images of the plant kingdom is now as easy as the click of a digital camera. ![]()
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