NY -- NYC -- Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum -- Exhibit: Nature by Design: Botanical Lessons:
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- Description of Pictures: Nature by Design: Botanical Lessons
June 8, 2019 – December 31, 2020
Botanical Lessons explores nature in the Smithsonian collections through thirteen botanical models on loan from the National Museum of American History, and a selection of illustrated books and periodicals from Smithsonian Libraries, all of which served as teaching aids in a nineteenth-century period marked by a growing interest in science and education. The models and books facilitated an up-close view of plants to the naked eye, provided a better understanding of the natural world in a time where microscopes and image projection were not widely available. Through these designs, a new way of seeing nature was made possible for students, scientists, and the general public.
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- Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
- CHBOT_190827_01.JPG: Nature by Design: Selections From the permanent collection
To accompany the special exhibition Nature -- Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, Nature by Design presents nine distinct stories drawn from Cooper Hewitt's collection of over 210,000 design objects. Throughout history, designers have observed nature, investigated its materials, and imitated and abstracted its patterns and shapes. Textiles, jewelry, furniture, cutlery, and more show how designers have interpreted nature's rich beauty and astonishing complexity. Across scales from microscopic to monumental, and in forms familiar and unusual, we invite visitors to discover how nature and design have intersected in the past and continue to converge in our world.
- CHBOT_190827_11.JPG: Botanical Lessons
Botanical Lessons explores the 19th-century intersection of nature and design in the Smithsonian collections through models on loan from the National Museum of American History and illustrated books and periodicals from the holdings of Smithsonian Libraries. These thirteen colorful models, made by the leading German firm R. Brendel & Co., were popular teaching aids for students around the world during a period marked by a growing interest in science and education. Encyclopedias and periodicals were important sources of botanical research for an increasing number of scientists, professional gardeners, and enthusiasts. These models and illustrations provided up-close views of the natural world at a time when microscopes and image projection were not widely available. Through these design objects and visual aids, new ways of understanding nature's intricate structures and beauty were possible with the naked eye.
- CHBOT_190827_19.JPG: Model, Ricinus Communis, 1875–1898
Ricinus communis, popularly known as castor bean or castor-oil plant, is indigenous to Eastern Africa. The plant's oil has been applied to many pharmaceutical and industrial uses throughout history, from fueling lamps in ancient Egypt to lubricating airplanes' rotary engines flown by the Allies during World War I.
- CHBOT_190827_22.JPG: Arum Maculatum, 1875–1898
The Arum maculatum is known by a wide variety of names, most commonly lords-and-ladies, cuckoopint, and starchwort. The latter was likely assigned because starch can be extracted from the plant's roots to stiffen fabrics. If eaten raw, all elements of starchwort cause severe bodily irritation, but some elements are safe for consumption if properly prepared.
- CHBOT_190827_26.JPG: Model, Ficus Carica, 1875–1898
The Ficus carica, or fig tree, is native to the Mediterranean and Central Asian regions, and it was one of the first plants cultivated by humankind, growing up to 30 feet. A staple in the diet of ancient Greeks and Romans, the fruit is now consumed around the world either raw, dried, or as a jam.
- CHBOT_190827_29.JPG: Model, Aesculus Hippocastanum, 1875–1898
The Aesculus hippocastanum, or horse chestnut, is native to the Balkan region. The wood has little value as timber, but it is suitable for carving. Unlike true chestnuts, this seed is not fit for human consumption because it contains high doses of aesculin, which can be fatal if ingested raw.
- CHBOT_190827_32.JPG: Plate, Tasconia Pinnatistipula , Paxton's Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants, vol. 1
Sir Joseph Paxton may be more well known today as the designer of the 1851 Crystal Palace exhibition building in London, but his main occupation at that time was as Head Gardener of Chatsworth House, home to the Dukes of Devonshire since 1549. Paxton was also interested in publishing and landscape and greenhouse design. These passions combined in Paxton's Magazine of Botany, which was the third title he developed, running from 1834 to 1849. The pages selected here focus on the lavish illustrations that accompanied the detailed texts, which shared the newest developments in botany for amateur and professional gardeners alike.
- CHBOT_190827_35.JPG: Plate, Sarracenia Purpurea, Paxton's Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants, vol. 3, 1837
Sir Joseph Paxton may be more well known today as the designer of the 1851 Crystal Palace exhibition building in London, but his main occupation at that time was as Head Gardener of Chatsworth House, home to the Dukes of Devonshire since 1549. Paxton was also interested in publishing and landscape and greenhouse design. These passions combined in Paxton's Magazine of Botany, which was the third title he developed, running from 1834 to 1849. The pages selected here focus on the lavish illustrations that accompanied the detailed texts, which shared the newest developments in botany for amateur and professional gardeners alike.
- CHBOT_190827_37.JPG: Plate, Odontoglossum Grande, Paxton's Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants, vol. 8, 1841
Sir Joseph Paxton may be more well known today as the designer of the 1851 Crystal Palace exhibition building in London, but his main occupation at that time was as Head Gardener of Chatsworth House, home to the Dukes of Devonshire since 1549. Paxton was also interested in publishing and landscape and greenhouse design. These passions combined in Paxton's Magazine of Botany, which was the third title he developed, running from 1834 to 1849. The pages selected here focus on the lavish illustrations that accompanied the detailed texts, which shared the newest developments in botany for amateur and professional gardeners alike.
- CHBOT_190827_39.JPG: Plate 71, Iconographic encyclopaedia of science, literature, and art. / Systematically arranged by J.G. Heck. Translated from the German, with additions, and edited by Spencer F. Baird ... illustrated by five hundred steel plates, containing upwards of twelve, 1851
This plate comes from an illustrated encyclopedia organized by German publisher and author Johann Georg Heck, in his 6-volume effort to comprise and organize knowledge of science, literature, and art in an accessible format. Figure 4 here depicts a walnut tree and figure 7 presents a variation of buckthorn, both of which are represented in corresponding botanical models on view in the central case nearby.
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