These exhibits highlight the rare books and manuscript collections held by Special Collections. They focus on agriculture and natural history and on individuals and organizations that made significant contributions to those fields. The current exhibits are located on the first floor of the National Agricultural Library.
Exhibits
| Spotlights |
Current Exhibits
Theme Gardening
In spring 2008, Special Collections opened a small exhibit on the first floor featuring current trends in gardening. Subject covered include gardening for native wildlife and growing heirloom fruits and vegetables.
Ongoing Exhibits
An Illustrated Expedition of North America: Bodmer and Maximilian in the American West
In 2001, Special Collections mounted an exhibit on the first floor of the library on naturalist and writer Prince Maximilian Alexander Philipp of Wied-Neuwied and Swiss artist Karl Bodmer who traveled through the American West from 1832-1834. They recorded the American landscape, the plants and animals, and the cultures of the human inhabitants. When they returned to Europe, Maximilian's journal was published accompanied by an atlas of Bodmer's illustrations. This exhibit contains an account and map of their journey along with reproductions of seven of the illustrations.
Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands
Special Collections opened an exhibit on Mark Catesby in 2000 on the first floor of the library. English born, Catesby (1682-1749) was the first naturalist to document North American plants and animals. His life's work, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, published 1731-1748, contains 220 etched plates as well as detailed descriptions of flora and fauna. It is considered one of the great achievements of 18 th century science and art. This exhibit features 14 images by Catesby.
Highlights from the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
In 2000, Special Collections mounted an exhibit on the first floor of the library to highlight some of the 7,700 paintings that compose the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection. In the late 1880s, USDA hired watercolor artists to visually document new species or varieties of fruits, nuts, and vegetables sent to USDA by farmers, growers, and plant explorers. Ultimately, these talented artists created a unique botanic resource: the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection.
Thomas Jefferson Correspondence Collection
In 1993, correspondence of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence, was discovered in the collection of USDA historian Everett Edwards. The eleven letters were to, from, and about Thomas Jefferson (1786-1819). This exhibit, mounted in 2000 on the first floor of the library, consists of two letters. One concerns the exchange of millet seed and Persian melon seed; the other concerns Jefferson's invention of the mould board plough.
Thomas Jefferson: Author, Architect, Agriculturalist
In 2000, wall exhibits in the multi-purpose room and the staff conference room were mounted to complement the Thomas Jefferson Correspondence Collection and emphasize Jefferson's strong ties to the land. A collage of photographs of Monticello, which Jefferson designed, and a model of the mould board plough which Jefferson invented--together with letters to and from Jefferson on agricultural matters--illustrate his roles as author, architect, and agriculturalist. Images from rare books depict some of the many kinds of fruits and ornamental plants he grew.
USDA Plant Collectors: Plant Exploration in Asia
Special Collections mounted an exhibit on the first floor of the library in 2001 on Palemon Howard (P. H.) Dorsett (1862-1943), a USDA plant explorer and William Joseph Morse, a USDA soybean expert. From 1929-1932, Dorsett and Morse took a joint plant expedition to Japan, Korea, and Manchurian China. The Dorsett-Morse Expedition resulted in 9,000 new plant accessions, of which one half were soybeans. It also resulted in a travel journal and photographs which together constitute a priceless documentary of the architecture, industry, and culture of the countries in which they traveled. This exhibit features photographs and commentary from the journal.
From the Old Comes the New: Variety Development
In 2000, Special Collections mounted an exhibit on the first floor of the library on pomology, the science of fruit breeding and production. The exhibit features exacting representations of newly introduced fruits and nuts that were are used by plant breeders to document and disseminate their research results. This exhibit shows old varieties of fruits illustrated by USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection artists paired with new varieties of fruits illustrated by USDA ARS photographers.
Electronic Exhibits
Schimmelpfennig Family Mill Collection Exhibit
The National Agricultural Library recognized Preservation Week, May 9-15, 2010, with an exhibit of the Schimmelpfennig Family Mill Collection. The collection contained a variety of materials related to the business of the family's grain mill, to their interest in visiting and preserving other grain mills across the country, and to family life in Sigourney, Iowa, from 1929-2001.
An Illustrated Expedition of North America: Bodmer and Maximillian in the American West
In 1832 naturalist Prince Maximilian, ruler of Neuwied, Prussia conducted an early expedition to the American West...
Early Developments in the American Dairy Industry
In the early 1600s immigrants brought cattle from Europe to supply their families with dairy products and meat. Although many different breeds were imported through the next centuries, it was not until the late 1800s that breeds were developed specifically for dairy purposes.
Popcorn: Ingrained in America's Agricultural History
Everyone seems to love popcorn. Although Americans are now such avid consumers of popcorn, and its agricultural history is long, its commercial history is comparatively short.
Frank N. Meyer (1875-1918)
In 1901, Frans Nicholas Meijer emigrated from the Netherlands to America where he became Frank Meyer. Almost immediately, Meyer went to work for the USDA's Erwin F. Smith, known internationally for his groundbreaking work in bacteriology.
Abraham Lincoln and Agriculture
On May 15, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed into law an act of Congress establishing "at the seat of Government of the United States a Department of Agriculture."
Future Exhibits
Special Collections develops new exhibits on a seasonal basis. Please check back for information on future exhibits.
Past Exhibits
Floral Expressions in Stone and Print
Special Collections collaborated with local sculptor, John Jayson Sonnier, to mount an exhibit from May-August 2008 featuring botanical sculptures and related prints from NAL's Rare Book Collection. More...
Inspiration and Translation: Botanical and Horticultural Lithographs of Joseph Prestele and Sons
In March 2006, a collaborative exhibit between the National Agricultural Library and the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh opened at NAL.
The exhibit explores the work of Joseph Prestele and his three sons, all of whom were botanical illustrators and lithographers. The exhibition was on display at the Hunt Institute from September through December 2005 and was on display at the NAL through 15 June 2006 in the main reading room on the first floor.
For more details, see the Hunt Institute Web site.
A Taste of Inspiration and Translation at the U.S. National Arboretum
Additional works of art by the Prestele family were on display at the U.S. National Arboretum Visitor Center located at 3501 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, D.C. 20002-1958.
This satellite exhibit included Joseph Prestele's plates prepared between the years 1849 and 1859 to accompany a Report on the Forest Trees of North America by Asa Gray and lithographs and watercolors produced by William Henry Prestele for the USDA's Division of Pomology. This exhibit was on display from March 2006 through June 15, 2006.
Frank Meyer: Plant Exploration Collection
From 2001-2005, Special Collections featured an exhibit on the Frank N. Meyer: Plant Exploration Collection on the first floor of the library. From 1904-1918, Frank Nicholas Meyer was a plant explorer for USDA's Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction. Meyer spent most of his time on plant expeditions to Europe and Asia. His final plant expedition took place in 1916 and ended with his untimely, mysterious death in China in 1918.
Meyer's contributions to plant introduction were significant. In 14 years of plant exploration, he was credited with over 2,500 plant introductions, which included persimmons, apricots, peaches, grapes, cabbages, bamboo, and ornamental plants. Following Meyer's death in 1918, his colleagues established a Meyer Medal to be awarded annually to the person who made the greatest contributions to plant introduction. The prestigious Meyer Medal was first awarded in 1920; and, it is still awarded today.
Rub the Oils and Strew the Powders
In April 2005, a new exhibit opened at Montpelier Mansion in Laurel, Maryland. A collaborative effort of the National Agricultural Library with Montpelier Mansion and the Friends of Montpelier, the exhibit features images from NAL's rare book collection. It highlights the many uses humans have found for herbs throughout the ages. Herbs have been used to flavor and preserve food, to relieve ailments, and to decorate homes. This exhibit was removed in April 2007.