Language of Flowers Virtual Symposium Botanic Garden • Caxton Club

Join us for a free virtual program celebrating the language of flowers.

Friday, April 30, 2021, he Language of Flowers genre is at the intersection of botany, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Central horticulture, natural history, art, poetry, and women’s studies. Time via Zoom. T This 19th-century popular literary trend presented the world of botany through dictionaries of flowers and associated meanings, and Free virtual program; floral poetry and prose, offering a sentimental view of natural history. preregistration required. Confirmed registrants will A properly arranged bouquet was said to convey a “secret message” be sent a Zoom link before for the recipient. The “social media” of its day, this Victorian literary the program. fad, led to many editions of works being published, with multiple titles by successful authors.

About: The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lenhardt presents this sym- posium as the capstone event for a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to conserve and digitize language of flower genre editions.

Collaboration: The symposium is presented in collaboration with the Caxton Club, an organization bringing together a diversified group of authors, binders, collectors, conservators, dealers, designers, editors, librarians, pub- lishers, scholars, and other interested individuals; into a community who share a love of and provides them a forum to learn about their history, production, and preservation; to heighten their appreci- ation of outstanding content, design and production; and to share in the joys of fine books.

Partner: The Lenhardt Library is a partner in the Biodiversity Heritage Library, the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL is revolutionizing global research by providing free, worldwide access to knowledge about life on Earth.

Registration: Click here to register.

(See page 2 for detailed schedule and speaker biographies.) Speaker Biographies: Introducing the Language of Flowers Floriography Deconstructed Leora Siegel is the Senior Director Brent Elliott was formerly Librarian, of the Lenhardt Library, one of the then Historian, of the Royal Horticul- treasures of the Chicago Botanic tural Society. He has written on the Garden. Its 150,000- history of gardens, the history of bot- encompasses resources on garden- any, and the history of botanical art. ing, botany, plant conservation, and Among his books are Victorian Gar- landscape design, in formats from Language of Flowers dens (1986), The Royal Horticultural rare books to e-books. Library initia- Virtual Symposium Society 1804-2004 (2004), RHS Chel- tives focus on public engagement, Chicago Botanic Garden • sea Flower Show (2013), and Federico collections, and collaborations. Siegel Caxton Club Cesi’s Botanical Manuscripts (2015), holds master’s degrees in both Library the last-named part of the publication and Information Science and Natural Friday, April 30, 2021, of the Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Resources and Environmental Science, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Central Pozzo. He was the founder-editor of from the University of Illinois at Urba- Time via Zoom. the Occasional Papers from the RHS na-Champaign. She is a Fellow of the Lindley Library. He has been a mem- Linnean Society of London, and serves Schedule: ber of the Victorian Society’s Buildings on the board of the Chicago Collec- 9:45 – 10 a.m. Committee for over 40 years, and was tions Consortium and Caxton Club. Zoom room opens a member of the English Heritage Historic Parks and Gardens Advisory Volumes on View 10 a.m. Committee for 21. He is currently Stacy Stoldt is the Library Public Ser- Welcome and Introducing president of EBHL, the European vices Manager and Rare Special- the Language of Flowers Botanical and Horticultural ist at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Leora Siegel, Senior Group. Lenhardt Library. She holds a mas- Director, Lenhardt Library, ter’s degree in Library Science, with Chicago Botanic Garden Speaking with Flora a focus on the history of the book. Ann “Rusty” Shteir is Professor She studied , illustration 10:30 a.m. Emerita in Humanities and Gender, processes, and researching rare books Keynote: Feminist, and Women’s Studies at York resources at the University of Virgin- Speaking with Flora University in Toronto, Canada. Her ia’s Rare Book School. Stacy presents Ann Shteir, Professor Ph.D. was from Rutgers University in programs at the Lenhardt Library, Emerita, York University, Comparative Literature, and her teach- including Meet the Rare Books, which Toronto, Canada ing, research, and writing have been provides interpretation and introduces on women and nature in historical and rare books and primary sources to 11:30 a.m. cultural perspectives. Her prize-win- students, researchers, the curious, Floriography ning book Cultivating Women, Culti- and the general public. Stoldt serves Deconstructed vating Science: Flora’s Daughters and as chair of two committees for the Brent Elliott, retired Botany in England, 1760-1860 (Johns Council on Botanical and Horticultural Librarian and Historian, Hopkins University Press, 1996) has Libraries, the leading professional Royal Horticultural Society, just been issued in Chinese trans- organization in the field of botanical London lation. She co-edited Natural Elo- and horticultural information. quence: Women Reinscribe Science 12:15 p.m. (1997) and Figuring It Out: Science, Volumes on View Gender, and Visual Culture (2006). Her Lenhardt Library, Stacy Stoldt, Manager, interest in visual dimensions of nature Chicago Botanic Garden Public Services and Rare and culture has led into publications https://www.chicagobotanic.org/library Book Specialist, Lenhardt and ongoing research about Flora, the [email protected] Library, Chicago Botanic mythological goddess of flowers. A Garden current work-in-progress is an inter- disciplinary edited collection about 12:45 p.m. women and botany in 19th-century Moderated Panel English Canada. Discussion

1:30 p.m. Final thoughts