Carl von Linné at the National Agricultural Library
Introduction
The National Agricultural Library's holdings of Carl von Linné; include over 300 books and dissertations, from both the General and Special Collections, written by or about the "Father of Taxonomy," an esteemed Swedish botanist, naturalist, and academic. Linné, also variously known as Carl or Carolus Linnaeus, was born in Sweden in 1707. His father was a pastor but Linné chose instead to study medicine at Lund University and the University of Uppsala. Linné was highly engaged in cultivating and caring for the University's collection of plants; he began developing an artificial system of plant classification that was based on the number of stamens or pistols present. His first published work in this area was Systema naturae (1735), and his first to explicitly outline the sexual system of classification was Fundamenta botanica (1736).
The Linnaean system used physical distinctions to classify plants, animals, and insects. This hierarchical system introduced several elements still in use today, including the division of Kingdoms, Classes, Orders, Genus, and Species. Carl von Linné still has a substantial influence on current research the fields of botany and zoology, a rare occurance for scientific research which typically becomes "outdated" in only a few years. Modern day scientists still use his system for naming plants, outlined in Species plantarum (1753), and his system for naming animals, outlined in Systema Naturae (10th ed., 1758). The National Agricultural Library holds copies of all four of these seminal works; see the "Highlights" section below for other influential Linné holdings at NAL.
The bibliographies below represent the National Agricultural Library's complete holdings of Linnaeana. The texts have been divided into works written about Linné and those written by him. The bibliography including texts written about Linné is available sorted by date and author last name; the bibliography of Linné-authored texts is sorted by date. One important sub-section of Linnaeana is dissertations co-authored with students while Linné was a professor at the University of Uppsala in Uppsala, Sweden; these texts have been placed in the Linné-authored bibliography. The bibliographic data was compiled by Lindsey Loeper, Coordinator, Special Collections, in the summer of 2007, using bibliographic records from AGRICOLA and NAL's Dictionary Catalog.
DisclaimerSpecial Collections of the National Agricultural Library (NAL) acquires, arranges, describes, preserves and makes available rare materials significant to the history of agriculture. Materials are obtained through donation or active collection in accordance with the established Special Collections collection development policy. Special Collections staff organize and describe materials according to archival principles and create descriptions and indexes to enhance access. Staff do not edit or otherwise modify the original materials. The views expressed in the collections do not necessarily reflect the policies of the National Agricultural Library or the United States Department of Agriculture.
Linneaus Highlights at the National Agricultural LibraryThe National Agricultural Library holds an extensive collection of Carl von Linné's texts on binomial nomenclature. Please see below for a listing of the library's holdings of Linné's most influential books:
Classes plantarum:
1738, Lugduni Batavorum: apud C. Wishoff.
1747, Halae Magdebvrgicae: Apud I.G. Bierwirth.Flora lapponica:
1737, Amstelaedami: apud S. Schouten.Fundamenta botanica:
1736, Amstelodami: apud S. Schouten.
1740 (2nd edition), Stolkholmiæ: apud. G. Kiesewetter.
1744, Parisiis.Genera plantarum:
1737, Ligduni Batavorum: apud C. Wishoff.
1742 (2nd edition), Lugduni Batavorum: apud. C. Wishoff.
1743 (3rd edition), Parisiis: Sumptibus Minchaelis Antonii David.
1752 (4th edition), Halae Magdeburgicae: apud C. C. Kümmel.
1754, [5th edition], Holmiae: impensis L. Salvii.
1764, (6th edition), Holmiae: impensis direct. L. Salvii.
1767, Viennae: typis J. Thomae nob. de Trattnern.Hortus cliffortianus:
1737, Amstelaedami.Philosophica botanica:
1751, Stockholmiae: apud Godofr. Kiesewetter.
1755, Viennæ Avstriæ: typis I.T. Trattner.
1763, Viennae Austriae: typis J. T. Trattner.
1770, Vindobonae: Typis Joannis Thomae nob. de Trattnern.Species plantarum:
1753, Holmiae: impensis L. Salvii.
1762-63 (2nd edition), Holmiae: impensis direct L. Salvii.
1764 (3rd edition), Vindobonae: typis Joannis Thomae de Trattner.Systema naturae:
1735 (1907 facsimile), Lugduni Batavorum: apud T. Haak.
1740 (2nd edition), Stockholmiæ: apud G. Kiesewetter.
1744 (4th edition), Parisiis.
1748 (6th rev. and enl. edition), Stockholmiæ.
1756 (9th edition), Lugduni Batavorum: apud T. Haak.
1758-59 (10th edition), Holmiae, impensis L. Salvii.
1766-68 (12th edition), Holmiae: impensis direct. L. Salvii.
1767-70 (13th edition), Vindobome: tyois I. Thomae nob. de Trattnern.
Robert Leslie Usinger Collection on Carolus LinnaeusThe donated library of a Linnaeana collector, Robert Leslie Usinger. Texts from this collection are included in the Linnaeus bibliographies.
"The Names of the Twenty-four Classes"
Linnaeus's System of Botany
By William Curtis
London, 1777
Accompanying text for Plate One
Digitized Selections and Images
"Plate Two"
Linnaeus's System of Botany
By William Curtis
London, 1777
Click the citation information for any of the images below to view the complete image. Please contact Special Collections for information on obtaining copies of images or to view the texts in the Special Collections Reading Room.
"The Orders which depend on characters distinct from these of the Classes"
Linnaeus's System of Botany
By William Curtis
London, 1777
Accompanying text for Plate Two
"Plate One"
Entomologia
By Carl von Linné and Charles Joseph de Villers
1789
Accompanying text for Plate Two
Linné Holdings at the Missouri Botanical GardenMissouri Botanical Garden
View Linné holdings in the Missouri Botanical Garden Library's online catalog.
The Mackenzie LinnaeanaKansas State University
"The Mackenzie Linnaeana encompasses over 1300 works by and about Carl von Linné [Carolus Linnaeus]..."
The Linnaeus Link ProjectThe Linnean Society of London
A collaborative effort to develop an international online union catalog of Linnaeana.
Linné OnlineUppsala University
Information about Carl von Linné compiled by Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, where Linné served as a professor of medicine.
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