An Illustrated Catalog of American Fruits & Nuts: The U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection - Hardcover

by Adam Leith Gollner (Introduction by), Adam Leith Gollner (Text by (Art/Photo Books)), Marina Vitaglione (Text by (Art/Photo Books))

A kaleidoscopic celebration of the USDA's pomological collection, offering an engaging, biophillic meditation upon the sweetest of the earth's produce

The United States Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection encompasses 7,497 botanical watercolor paintings of evolving fruit and nut varieties, alongside specimens introduced by USDA plant explorers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Assembled between 1886 and 1942, the collection's remarkable, botanically accurate watercolors were executed by some 21 professional artists (including nine women). Authored largely before the widespread application of photography, the watercolors were intended to aid accurate identification and examination of fruit varietals, for the nation's fruit growers.