Press Release
Darwin’s Garden: An Evolutionary Adventure
Oct. 4, 2008 - Jan. 5, 2009Library West Hall Next year marks the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of
Origin of Species. To commemorate the occasion, the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) opened this exhibition in April 2008; The Huntington will be its only traveling venue. The exhibition explores the botanical influences on Darwin’s formative years in education, their impact on
Origin of Species, and Darwin’s place in the field of evolutionary botany. More than 60 items will be on display, including rare books, manuscripts, and prints from the NYBG collection and loans from private individuals and institutions. The Huntington will display its own copies of a selection of items from the exhibition checklist.
Photo Captions
Barraud photo
| Last photo of Charles Darwin, by Herbert Rose Barraud (1845–1896), 1881. © Huntington Library
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Jeens engraving
| Charles Darwin, engraving by C. H. Jeens (1827–1879), after 1860.
Courtesy of LuEsther T. Mertz Library, the New York Botanical Garden
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Darwin as child
| Charles Darwin, age 6, with his sister Catherine. Chalk drawing, 1816,
by Ellen Sharples (1760–1849). By kind permission of Darwin Heirlooms
Trust. © English Heritage Photo Library
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| Beagle | HMS Beagle. Courtesy of LuEsther T. Mertz Library, the New York Botanical Garden |
Tree of Life
| Darwin’s first sketch of the evolutionary tree of life, 1837. By permission of the Syndics of the Cambridge University Library
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Orchid
| Orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale), Robert Warner (1815-1896). Select
Orchidaceous Plants. Darwin predicted that there must be an insect with
a proboscis adapted to reach the flower’s nectar at the base of the
long spur of this beautiful orchid from Madagascar. Nearly 40 years
later, he was proven correct. Courtesy of LuEsther T. Mertz Library,
the New York Botanical Garden
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Hooke
| Arguably the most famous plant illustration in the history of science.
It shows the Mimosa sensitiva, which folds its fronds upon touch.
Hooke’s illustrations depict microscopic views of the plant before and
after touch. From Robert Hooke (1635–1703), Micrographia (1665).
Courtesy of LuEsther T. Mertz Library, the New York Botanical Garden
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