Discovering the Landscape #1

written by Claire Wooldridge, Landscape Institute Library Officer.

Since the arrival of the Landscape Institute Library and Archive a few weeks ago, I have been immersed in a new world of international architectural design, rural development, urban regeneration and land art.

Initial sorting of the library materials is underway – we have received approximately 60 metres of books, periodicals and pamphlets.  Whilst complementing our existing holdings, particularly our MERL library books on topics such as gardening, land policy and the environment, this new material also prompts us to consider our MERL collections afresh.   The landscape is the backdrop to all aspects of rural life, but must also be seen as a worthy subject of consideration in its own right.

We have received a wonderful and varied mix of material, including twentieth century perspectives on the landscape, several beautifully bound nineteenth century books on gardening, a few rare books and works by some of the Landscape Institute big hitters such as Geoffrey Jellicoe and Sylvia Crowe.

Already a few gems have been unearthed which are featured in this post.  I particularly like the beautiful illustration of variegated pelargoniums from the 1930s and the colour chart issued by the Royal Horticultural Society and the British Colour Council.

Illustration of variegated pelargoniums from the 1930s.

Illustration of variegated pelargoniums from the 1930s.

Colour Chart issued by the Royal Horticultural Society and the British Colour Council.

Colour Chart issued by the Royal Horticultural Society and the British Colour Council.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can also see examples of some of the strikingly illustrated nineteenth century bindings we have received, alongside literature on the 1951 Festival of Britain (the book shown here features its logo) which celebrated the centenary of the Great Exhibition, fitting in nicely with our Great Exhibition collection.

Some strikingly illustrated 19th century bindings, plus a volume from the 1951 Festival of Britain.

Some strikingly illustrated 19th century bindings, plus a volume from the 1951 Festival of Britain.

For rare book fans we have also received Instruction pair les Jardins Fruitiers et Potages printed in Paris in 1697 and a copy of Della Agricoltura di M. Giovanni Tati printed in Venice in 1556 to sit alongside the copy we have in our Reserve collection.

'Instruction pair les Jardins Fruitiers et Potages' printed in Paris in 1697.

‘Instruction pair les Jardins Fruitiers et Potages’ printed in Paris in 1697.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated developments with our progress on the Landscape Institute Library and Archive in the coming weeks.

'Della Agricoltura di M. Giovanni Tati' printed in Venice in 1556.

‘Della Agricoltura di M. Giovanni Tati’ printed in Venice in 1556.

 

Hot off the lorry: the Landscape Institute archive and library has arrived!

written by Nancy Fulford, Project Archivist.

We are really excited to welcome the archive, library and associated architect’s collections of the Landscape Institute at MERL. Earlier this year the Institute decided that we would be the new home for these collections which have largely been in storage and inaccessible since 2008.

The Landscape Institute Archive arriving at our Store

The Landscape Institute Archive arriving at our Store

The Landscape Institute  was founded in 1929 with a formal library established in 1967 and archive collections in the 1990s. The archive collections include architectural drawings, photographs, slides, project files, notebooks and scrapbooks and include the drawings and personal realia (such as drawing equipment) of founder member of the Institute and landscape architect Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe. The library contains over 15,000 books, journals and pamphlets which we will be starting to catalogue and make accessible over the coming months alongside archive cataloguing. The archive boxes are on the shelves and we’re making our way through the 75+ crates of books before moving on to the drawings.

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These collections are an invaluable resource for researchers, landscape architects, picture researchers and those with an interest in landscape design, gardens and gardening. In our redevelopment we’re hoping to be able to show off the richness of our Archive collections, so look out for regular updates on the MERL blog which will include current research, cataloguing updates and highlights from the collections.