Category Archives: Botany

Sister of the More Famous Tycho

Posted on 10/09/2018 by carolinemmurray

When I wrote a valedictory piece in another place, before starting my Vita Nuova, I mentioned that one of the many books I might never now read was a biography of Tycho (properly Tyge Ottensen) Brahe (1546–1601), by John Louis … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Botany, History, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

William Turner, Naturalist

Posted on 08/09/2018 by carolinemmurray

I have mentioned before Dr Richard Pulteney (1730–1801), the sole survivor of eleven children from an Old Anabaptist family near Loughborough, Leicestershire, who was apprenticed to an apothecary and then set up as an apothecary and surgeon in Leicester. After … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: August 2018

Posted on 27/08/2018 by carolinemmurray

This month, I give you Gladiolus murielae, for no better reason (or, in my opinion, the extremely cogent reason) that I have, after several years of trying, actually got it to flower this year! Admittedly, one flower and one bud … Continue reading →

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Doomed to Find a Premature Grave

Posted on 06/08/2018 by carolinemmurray

These portentous words appear in the introduction to the 1834 English edition of Letters from India by the French natural historian Victor Jacquemont (1801–32), ‘Travelling Naturalist to the Museum of Natural History, Paris’. If his name is remembered now in … Continue reading →

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Plant of the Month: July 2018

Posted on 27/07/2018 by carolinemmurray

I had vaguely hoped that during my recent sojourn in Florida I might see a catalpa in (almost) its native habitat. Its usual southernmost range is further north in the state, but I had plans to visit botanic gardens, until … Continue reading →

Posted in Bibliography, Biography, Botany, Cambridge, Gardens, History, London, Natural history, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

(Yet) Another Artist Of Whom I’d Never Heard

Posted on 05/07/2018 by carolinemmurray

Well, had you (assuming, of course, that you are not an expert in eighteenth-century French flower paintings) heard of Gerard van Spaendonck? You will gather from his name that he was not French – he was born in 1746, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Botany, Cambridge, France, History, Museums and Galleries, Natural history, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Slow Venice

Posted on 12/06/2018 by carolinemmurray

I’m not sure that I would choose to visit Venice in June again – though I can imagine a few compelling reasons, such as a once-in-a-generation exhibition of all the known Carpaccios in the world (she said hopefully). The main … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Botany, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Venice | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Chelsea Physic Garden

Posted on 25/04/2018 by carolinemmurray

Well, I made it to the one-day exhibition on Philip Miller at the Chelsea Physic Garden, and it rained only at the end of our stroll around, and then not much. We were greeted at the entrance by welcoming staff, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bibliography, Biography, Botany, Gardens, History, London, Natural history, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Memos to Self …

Posted on 05/04/2018 by carolinemmurray

A blissful afternoon in the garden today. Sun! Warmth! Ladybirds! Tulips! Robins! But after five hours of stern effort, I feel the need to set down a few reminders to myself, some of which may possibly be of more general … Continue reading →

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Hans Hoffmann

Posted on 05/04/2018 by carolinemmurray

One of the benign prerogatives of the University of Cambridge is that department and faculty librarians needing to de-access duplicate or redundant books are required to offer them first to the University Library, then to other department libraries. What is … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Botany, History, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments