Botanical Expedition! - Botanical Research Institute of Texas

More documents

Recommendations

Info

iridos volume 18 no 2 20 Trading Cards, Space Exploration, and BRIT Books PHOTOS By ROBERT GEORGE Did you ever collect baseball cards? Well, two unique books known as Dutch trade card albums might interest you. Recently donated to the library, one illustrates cacti and the other succulents. They are prized by collectors for their rarity, artistic appeal, and accuracy of species depicted. Authored by A.J. Van Laren, Cactussen and Vetplanten (literally, fat plant), published in 1931 and 1932 respectively, both contain over a hundred cards. They were published by the Verkade Biscuit Company in Zaamdam, outside of Amsterdam, an enterprise that produced trade cards and the albums to paste them in from 1903 to 1940. The cards, with colorful art on the front and advertising on the back, were a means of selling products. Artistic themes ranged from wildlife and plants to country scenes. Collected individually, much like baseball cards, they were pasted into the published albums. In the case of BRIT’s new acquisitions, the text is very accurate, ample, and scientific in nature. And it’s no wonder. Author, A.J. Van Laren, was curator of Amsterdam’s botanic garden, Hortus Botanicus, a garden that had its beginnings in 1638, and is one of the oldest in Europe. hAvE You hEARd? The space program is progressing! No, not NASA’s space exploration program, but BRIT’s program to make space. We’re working in the journal stacks clearing the topmost shelf, long used for duplicates storage, to make room for our growing library. In the rare book room, we have moved the preservation materials and work space into the archives work area. Making use of the vacated sections by moving and consolidating books, we’ll bring over items that are underutilized in the children’s library in BRIT’s other main building. The program has opened up new frontiers, thanks to the determination and muscle of volunteers John Kovac, Jerry Sorenson and Satyatit Balial. Speaking of volunteers, we have recently bid farewell to two longtime volunteers. We sorely miss Ruth Ginsburg and Robbin Brodsky, but they will be assets in their new communities. Their departure highlights how much we rely upon volunteers to continue, maintain, and provide quality library services.
A Juicy Event (you won’t want to miss!) Wine connoisseurs, aficionados and enthusiasts alike will gather, mingle, and enjoy myriad pleasures on October 19th at The Fort Worth Club at Fête du Vin: Botanical Research Institute of Texas’ (BRIT) Premier Wine Auction and Dinner. Guests will taste delicious wines, savor gourmet food, and even get some exercise raising bid paddles to benefit BRIT. Celebrating the natural connection between winemaking and botany, Fête du Vin will help BRIT advance its mission to conserve our natural heritage. Botanists have always played a vital role in cultivating the world’s vineyards, and Fête du Vin honors the symbiosis of this relationship. Starting at 7 p.m., guests at this black-tie affair will enjoy an elegant evening featuring an expansive silent auction and a red-hot live auction with renowned auctioneers David Reynolds and Colleen Buckley of Reynolds & Buckley Auctions in San Francisco. As bid paddles fly in the live auction, guests can bid on an exquisite selection of unique lots from exceptional wine collections. Here’s a sample of what you’ll find in the mix: rare lots from California such as Arrowood and Hanzell, rare wine verticals, and domestic and international travel vacations (such as a week at a private home in Bariloche, Argentina). Also on the live auction list are a patron package to the 2008 Sonoma Jazz Festival, unique tours (like a guided tour of the Chelsea Flower Show and dinner in London), and a chance to create a signature salsa by spending two hours at Renfro Foods during a test kitchen tour with owner and salsa chef Doug Renfro. Just think! Customize your formulation and take 24 jars away to share with friends and family! In the silent auction, bidders will be tempted by the many items that include wine tastings, trips, and treasures. A VIP tasting at Taittinger Chateau & Vineyards is on the block, as are membership and tickets for two to The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas’ tastings and events for a year; dinner at the Royal Sonesta in New Orleans; menus prepared by celebrity chefs; autographed books about wine, botany, and cooking; rare wine verticals; a stay in the historic Driskill Hotel in Austin; and to top it off, a double Magnum of Melville Winery Terrace Estate Pinot Noir, 2004. Tickets start at only $300 per person – and you are invited! Or try a table for 10 at $2,500, $5,000 or $10,000. Call now and reserve your spot by ringing Amanda Morris at 817-332-4441, ext. 15, or emailing amorris@brit.org or visit www. brit.org. Underwriting opportunities are also available. BRIT is inviting you to join us for Fête du Vin, the Premier Wine Auction and Dinner, on Friday evening, October 19, 2007, at The Fort Worth Club in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. iridos volume 18 no 2 21
Page 1 and 2: a publication of the botanical rese
Page 3 and 4: table of contents 5 Green from the
Page 5 and 6: y Cleve lanCaster, direCtor of deve
Page 7 and 8: COURTESy CNRC facility should addre
Page 9 and 10: 13th Annual International Award of
Page 11 and 12: of defense against malaria. China i
Page 13 and 14: STAFF PHOTO NDD: Nature Deficit Dis
Page 15 and 16: TIANA FRANKLIN Here’s Judy! The e
Page 17 and 18: Iridos Wins top honors in 2006 Insp
Page 19: BRIT’s Brown Bag Botany Needs a B
Page 23 and 24: Botany 101 Beginning this fall, BRI
Page 25 and 26: NSF Awards Grant to BRIT REINALDO A
Page 27 and 28: PARTNER LEVEL Ms. Florence L. Adams

Botanical Expedition! - Botanical Research Institute of Texas

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?