When Bobbi Angell first approached Oak Spring Garden Foundation with her concept for this book, we knew immediately that this would be an exciting way to bridge science and art, and also to share some of the treasures of Oak Spring Garden Library. The magnificent result more than justifies that early enthusiasm by adding visual stimulation to Charles Darwin’s brilliant insights and carefully crafted prose.
Our benefactor Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon once wrote, “The library comes first,” and she set out a challenge: “How to share its beauty and knowledge in the most inspiring way giving human satisfaction and bringing books and nature together?” This book, created through the combined talents of James T. Costa and Bobbi Angell, provides a new and creative answer to Mrs. Mellon’s rhetorical question.
Through her fascination with plants, Bunny Mellon was well aware of the impact and importance of Charles Darwin’s work. As she created the library of Oak Spring Garden Foundation, she acquired copies of all Darwin’s books. Aware of his deep botanical pedigree, she read Phytologia: Or the Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening by his paternal grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, and she also purchased a copy of the first American edition of Erasmus’s long discursive poem The Botanic Garden.
In The Botanic Garden, and especially in the section on The Loves of the Plants, Erasmus Darwin conveys his enthusiasm for the work of Carl von Linné, using anthropomorphic language to describe the parts of flowers and their function. Two generations later, it was his grandson, Charles, who developed the key concepts that underpin modern research on the form and function of plants. Charles Darwin’s books on orchids, cross- and self- fertilization, and floral variation in the same species show us how floral diversity relates to the biology of plant reproduction. His insights reveal the meaning behind the exuberant variety of flowers. The varied illustrations in this book bring some of that floral diversity to life through works by some of the greatest botanical artists of all time, including many who were contemporaries of Erasmus and Charles Darwin.
From 1842, when he took up residence at Down House, up to his death in 1882, Charles Darwin devoted much of his life to his work on plants. He had begun to publish short observations on plants in The Gardeners’ Chronicle in 1841. Subsequently, he published many articles on botanical topics, and six of his seventeen books, published between 1862 and 1888, are entirely devoted to plants. In addition to plant reproduction, Darwin also thought deeply about insectivorous plants, climbing plants, and plant movement. Plants feature prominently in his book on variation associated with “domestication.” Tellingly, botanical examples are increasingly prominent in later editions of On the Origin of Species. Though his methodical experimental approach does not always make for easy reading, his insights shone light into areas of plant biology that had previously been dark.
Darwin’s botanical interests were encouraged by his mentor at Cambridge, John Henslow, and also stimulated by his correspondence with the botanist Asa Gray at Harvard. However, his friendship with Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 1865 to 1885 and perhaps Darwin’s closest scientific confidant, was especially important. Hooker had no hesitation at placing all of Kew’s resources at Darwin’s disposal. This was at a time when newly discovered plants were flowing into Kew from all over the world and often being cultivated, described, and illustrated for the first time. Consequently, Darwin had access to a vast range of botanical material, much of which is discussed and illustrated in this book. At Down House, Darwin grew plants obtained from Kew as well as from some of his many correspondents. Plants were perfect subjects for careful observation and experimentation. In a letter to Hooker in June 1857, he confessed that he found “any proposition more readily tested in botanical works … than zoological.”
It is interesting that one of the most perceptive observers of plants, and one of the greatest thinkers about nature, was neither an accomplished illustrator nor especially visual. For Charles Darwin, the primary focus was observations, experiments, and synthesis that led to new ideas. He once remarked, “How odd it is that anyone should not see that all observation must be for or against some view if it is to be of any service!” But documenting observations with illustrations was not a primary concern. The only illustration in On the Origin of Species is a simple diagram representing the divergence of species through geological time. Illustrations are also sparse in Darwin’s other works, including those focused on plants. Bobbi Angell and James T. Costa have done a valuable service by connecting us to the variety of plants Darwin had in his mind and which featured in the development of his ideas. Their compilation of illustrations, selected from the collections of Oak Spring Garden Library, provide a unique perspective on Darwin’s extraordinary capacity for synthesis. At the same time, they provide a new lens through which to highlight the quality, scope, and value of botanical art before and during Darwin’s time. Bringing Darwin’s text into conjunction with great botanical art is a masterstroke that adds interest and will bring new audiences to both.
It was an honor for Oak Spring Garden Foundation to partner with Jim and Bobbi in this exciting project and to share a sampling of the botanical art in Oak Spring Garden Library, which further celebrates the care with which Mrs. Mellon curated her unique collection.
SIR PETER CRANE FRS
President
Oak Spring Garden Foundation