Category Archives: Printing and Publishing

The Pliny of Switzerland

Posted on 09/05/2020 by

I vaguely knew of Conrad Gessner (often spelled Gesner) as a botanist, but it wasn’t until I was tracing the taxonomy of the bluetit a few days ago that I became aware of his wide-ranging work across the fields of … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bibliography, Biography, Botany, History, Natural history, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Plant of the Month: April 2020

Posted on 19/04/2020 by

Greifswald, now in the province of Vorpommern-Mecklenburg in Germany, is one of those coastal cities in the Baltic which have always been part of the Debatable Land of north-central Europe. It is closer to Malmö and Copenhagen than to Berlin, … Continue reading →

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W.P. Milner

Posted on 31/03/2020 by

Last autumn, I wanted some new/different narcissi for my pots. (Tulips were already organised via the annual terrifying over-spend at Chelsea: many thanks, Mr Blom, they are looking wonderful!) So I went off to the local garden centre, where I … Continue reading →

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Naturalists of the Three Counties

Posted on 23/03/2020 by

It is an article of (my) faith that the ‘Three Choirs Counties’ – Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire – are the most beautiful and amazing part of England. Imagine my delight, therefore, when I discovered quite by chance all sorts of … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Botany, Gardens, History, Museums and Galleries, Natural history, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Naming of Plants

Posted on 23/01/2020 by

Richard Chandler Alexander Prior (1809–1902) does not (yet) appear in the pages of the ODNB, though his day may come. He knew and corresponded with many of the great scientists of the nineteenth century; he was a physician whose health … Continue reading →

Posted in Bibliography, Biography, Botany, Cambridge, Gardens, History, Natural history, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

1687 and All That

Posted on 05/10/2019 by

If Francesco Morosini is remembered worldwide today, it is probably for the collateral damage caused when a stray Venetian cannon ball hit the gunpowder store which the Turks had so thoughtfully placed in the Parthenon during the siege of Athens. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Printing and Publishing, Venice | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Secret Garden

Posted on 15/09/2019 by

Of course, a great many gardens in Venice are secret – that is, invisible to the normal passer-by in the calle. But the garden of Palazzo Soranzo Cappello is probably the most famous secret garden in the city (with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Botany, Gardens, History, Italy, Literature, Natural history, Printing and Publishing, Venice | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment