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The Hunt Facsimile Series. This series was established to meet the need for facsimile reproductions of rare works in botany and horticulture. A distinctive feature of each facsimile edition is the inclusion of scholarly studies on historical and bibliographical aspects of the books and biographical studies of the author and illustrators. New translations of non-English texts are provided when necessary. The selection and publication of any title are subject to enlistment of competent authorities to prepare the introductory treatments. Number one of this series, published in April 1963, is L'Héritier de Brutelle's Sertum Anglicum, a rare work whose title page is dated 1788, (but which actually was published in 1789-92), illustrated with 38 full-page plates, largely by the famed Belgian-born artist, Pierre-Joseph Redouté. The facsimile includes three introductory studies illustrative of the type to be expected in future works of the series: L'Héritier de Brutelle, the man and his work, by F. A. Stafleu; The plants of Sertum Anglicum, by J. S. L. Gilmour et al.; and The illustrators of Sertum Anglicum, by Wilfrid Blunt. The English translation was prepared by three Benedictine monks at St. Vincent's College, headed by Rev. Maximilian Duman, O.S.B.
The Hunt Monograph Series. Works in this series represent monographic studies in a broad range of subjects but primarily those related to the literature of this Library, to the history of botany or a facet of the science, to biography, or to plant exploration and allied subjects. The first number of the series is a two-part work entitled Adanson: the bicentennial of Michel Adanson's "Famille des Plantes." Part I was published in August 1963. Part II will be published in May 1964. The second number of the series will be the long unpublished manuscript by E. L. Greene of Part II of his Landmarks of Botanical History. A new biographical study of Greene and an analytical review of his work as a plant taxonomist will be included, together with a reprinting of Part I of the same title. Publication is set for late autumn, 1964.
Bibliographia Huntiana. This will be a multivolume encyclopedic work requiring an estimated 15 years to complete and may well be one of the most ambitious projects in the field of botanical literature to be produced in recent decades. It will provide a bibliographic study of every botanical book and every horticultural book that deals primarily with plants (excluding those on plant culture or landscape design), during the period 1730-1840. The number of such titles is now estimated to be about 18,000. It will include also — for each author of an included book — each author's botanical papers in the periodical literature of that period. The initial date of coverage, 1730, was selected so that all of Linnaeus' botanical studies would be included. The closing date, 1840, was chosen because works published after that date possess fewer bibliographic problems and because there occurred then a marked increase in the literature and a division of botanical activity into specialized disciplines. For every author of an included book there will be given a brief biographical summary, accompanied whenever available by a citation of references to him and his publications. The title page of every book will be reproduced photographically in lieu of the usual bibliographic line-for-line transcription; each reproduction will fit in one column of a two-column format. For each title there will be given (1) a collation of the work, (2) an accounting of plates and other illustrations (with biographical references to the illustrators), (3) citations of published reviews, announcements, and bibliographic studies, (4) notes on dates of publications, accompanied by references to published accounts of same, and (5) notes on the work as a whole including — for rare titles — locations of copies. Each edition will be given full bibliographic consideration, and translations will be treated as separate works. A special staff headed by Dr. Günther Buchheim, now on leave from the Botanischer Garten und Museums at Berlin, is at work on the project. With the aid of computers, it is expected that the first of perhaps 15 volumes will be available in a few years.
Huntia. This will be a yearbook devoted to studies in botanical bibliography including any of the four groups of this Library's collections. Papers of substance and length will be admitted, illustrated to the extent necessary for reader comprehension. While a majority of the papers may originate with this Library's staff, its pages are open also to specialists at other institutions. A modest honorarium will be paid to non-staff contributors. The first volume is scheduled for publication in March 1964.
Books and other collections of the Hunt Botanical Library are available for consultation and study by anyone who has occasion to use them. Their importance as research tools for the resident staff is responsible for the Library's no-loan policy (except for the occasional loan to other institutions of paintings, prints, and drawings). Material will be supplied on request in microfilm, xerox, or other media, at a nominal charge. Study areas are available for a limited number of visiting scholars. The Library is open to students and scholars Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. Its exhibition areas are open to the general public every Wednesday afternoon. A continuing program of exhibits of books and illustrations is maintained, and for which special catalogues are occasionally issued. Its lecture room is available on application for special group meetings of interests cognate to those of the Library. GEORGE H. M. LAWRENCE, THE RACHEL McMASTERS MILLER HUNT BOTANICAL LIBRARY, CARNEGIE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, PITTSBURGH, PA.
