Library announces 'Fresh from the Garden' exhibition featuring seed catalogs

9:39 a.m., Aug. 5, 2011--The University of Delaware Library has announced that a small exhibition, “Fresh from the Garden: Seed Catalogs in Special Collections,” will be on display through Wednesday, Aug. 31. The exhibition is located near the Information Desk in the Information Room on the first floor of Morris Library.

“Fresh from the Garden: Seed Catalogs in Special Collections” is a small selection of beautiful seed catalogs from the Unidel History of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Collection in the UD Library.

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• June 6-9: Food and culture series
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American nursery businesses began using illustrations in their sales catalogs or seed catalogs in the late 1840s.  As illustration processes developed the images in the catalogs became more exquisite and colorful.

Seed catalogs provide valuable information about the history of horticulture, botany, agribusiness, gardening, advertising, as well as graphic design.  Additionally seed catalogs document the social history of the changing trends in gardening and farming.

“Fresh from the Garden: Seed Catalogs in Special Collections” is curated by Laurie Rizzo, assistant librarian, Special Collections Department, with exhibition preparation by Anita Wellner, library assistant, Special Collections Department, and design and installation of the physical and virtual exhibition by Rizzo.

The exhibition is available online.