Databases
Floras
Introduction
This database is an electronic distillation of a bibliography based predominantly on the records compiled for the Institute's Bibliographia Huntiana (BH) project, which was originally intended to be a multivolume printed work with a rigorously exacting bibliographic treatment of the botanical literature published between 1730 and 1840. Some of its data was preserved electronically and has survived (in varying degrees of fidelity) the many technological developments of the past 40 years. Some larger subsets of the data were secured in, unfortunately incomplete, galley proof manuscripts intended for in-house proofreading. Much of what exists here has been assembled by combing through and cleaning heavily formatted elementized datasets from the electronic files and complimenting those efforts with data entry from the galleys. There is much more data to process, but the bibliographic core is mostly intact. This database covers a subset of the world's botanical literature, the floras, from the period 1730 to 1840. The term flora is generally understood to designate an inventory of native and naturalized plants of a given geographical region; it may consist of a simple enumeration of the taxa recognized or contain concise or extended descriptions of the plants, often with keys for their identification. Floristic literature in the more general sense includes all that which treats in any way the distribution and/or identification of plants from particular geographic areas. The common denominator in all cases is the regional approach, and we have emphasized proper evaluation and designation of the geographical area or areas represented in each work included in this bibliography.
Since the Floras were originally intended for publication in book form, many of the organizational principles that were used to construct the composition of entries in the original format are, in varying degrees, ineffectual in a database environment. Much information is lost in forgoing the original organizational architecture, and it is our intention eventually to provide an electronic facsimile of the originally intended systematic presentation of information. As it stands now, the user will be able to search on many facets of the elementized data and browse results as they are retrieved, but the experience will not be quite the same as browsing physical volumes. As we develop new ways of presenting this data, it is our hope that we can approach the same thoroughly depictive character of the book experience while maintaining the utility of the modern database.
Coverage
This bibliography is restricted to printed works published as books, including pamphlets and collections of plates. Also included are reprints of articles that were originally published in periodicals or serials, as well as those first published as parts of books. The same holds for preprints; these are typographical products first published separately before they came out as papers in the particular periodicals or books for which they were intended. In order to qualify as a reprint (or preprint), the item has to differ from the earlier (in the case of preprints, the later) typographical product by at least one of the following features: additional imprint, or text added to a former blank space (or text omitted, or replaced); a new title page or wrapper title; independent or double pagination; a different imposition or format or different signatures. If the item turns out to be completely identical with that from the place of main publication, it is considered to be a "detached copy." These have generally been omitted; however, such items are included if it has been established that detached copies were distributed by the author or printer, or if a high probability of that exists, as with periodicals where each paper is separately paged and often furnished with a title page of its own. In the entries for such items they are duly noted as detached copies.
Books published as parts of bookdealers' or publishers' series have been included with proper identification. On the other hand, travel works published in travel journals or series, even if the work comprises a full volume of the serial, have been excluded.
Works treating plants of the whole world or of unspecified regions (e.g., titles with only general statements, such as "exotic plants," "foreign plants" or "plants collected abroad") have not been included. This is also true for books describing travels around the world or circumnavigations unless the area or areas covered floristically are specified internally and are readily ascertainable. Collected works with known floristic contents have always been included regardless of whether one or many geographical regions are covered.
The following categories of botanical literature have been excluded: works on fossil and subfossil plants; herbals (i.e., works concerned mainly with the medicinal properties and applications of plants; even if a geographical area is stated, this is usually not, or not exclusively, the region where the plants are native but rather where they are used); dictionaries and similar works concerned only with the names of plants and their etymology; purely historical accounts of the floristic exploration of certain regions or of the work done at particular institutions; works treating cultivated plants only, except for a few works with descriptions based on plants grown from seeds collected in the wild; exsiccata works (i.e., dried specimens of plants accompanied by printed labels with or without descriptions and separately published pamphlets that are restricted to listing the contents of such exsiccata). Also excluded are similar "published" wood, fruit and seed collections and accompanying labels or lists enumerating the contents of these collections. We have included true floras or other books with substantial floristic texts that are accompanied by wood samples, wax models, microscopic slides or similar objects for collateral demonstration.
We have included books on phenology, including calendars of flora or of nature, and studies of vegetation, including those of forests, where these subjects are geographically delimited.
We have attempted to achieve a coverage of the floras and floristic literature that can be considered reasonably comprehensive of this branch of botanical literature during the "classical" era of modern botany. A cursory analysis of the titles represented reveals that the greater part of the floristic information published in the books of that period is contained in works on travel and topography. Because of the very large number of titles published on these two topics, and since quite a few of them do not include information on wild plants, such works have been included only if we could verify floristic contents. More difficult was the decision in the case of multiple versions of the same work, including translations, when it was possible to check them all directly for their floristic content and the information otherwise available about the contents was inadequate; generally in such cases all the versions have been included although a few of them may not contain the floristic information that is present in other versions of the same works.
Works whose publication began before 1730 but were completed afterwards and those started in 1840 or before but finished at a later date are included and have received the same treatment as other entries.
Data fields
Each entry is broken into faceted elements and displayed with headings in bold followed inline by the content for that element. Entries may contain up to 29 elements of descriptive, analytical and ancillary information.
Author
This is the author statement (i.e., author, or senior author in the case of joint authorship, life dates and transcribed authorial statement).
A standardized form has been selected for each author's name in accordance with biographical custom and is used consistently throughout the bibliography. Each author statement usually has three components: family name (simple or compound), given name(s; Christian or forenames), dates of birth and death. In some cases only the initials of the given names are known while for others no given names are known at all, and two dashes (--) following the family name indicate this lack of information. For a few authors only initials are known for all names, and the final initial is assumed to be that of the author's family name and is placed first as a filing element, followed by the other initials as they are found.
If either the birth or death date of an author is the only one known, this is indicated by the abbreviation "b." or "d.," followed by the year. If neither is known, but a period of activity is confirmed, this is indicated by the abbreviation "fl." (= flourished) and the range of dates. The absence of any dates indicates that no biographical information has been found for the author. In a few cases, especially when no life dates are known, persons with the same name have been distinguished by the addition of a descriptor (in English). Titles of nobility are normally omitted in the standardized name except for the very few cases where their retention is felt to be essential. For reigning monarchs, etc., who usually lack family names, their given or chosen name(s), including any appropriate numeral, is used and is followed by an explanation of their title and territory (in English) and then their life (not regnal) dates.
When the title page or a reliable transcription was available to the editors, its authorial statement is transcribed verbatim and separated from the preceding date by a double slash (//). However, an author's title is usually omitted, excepting for religious designations (e.g., Pere, Abbot, Sister) and those of nobility. When the family name alone is given on the title page, a preceding title will be entered unless it is merely a form of address (e.g., Monsieur, Herr, Senhor). Names given on title pages are always converted to the nominative case. In some instances the author's true name is not given but only indirectly revealed, and this is quoted verbatim following the double slash (e.g., "//The author of Evenings at home"). Pseudonyms are similarly quoted and are distinguished by a suffixed "(Pseud)." A double slash with no following statement indicates that the author's name is altogether lacking from the title page.
In a multivolume work, or in one which has titles in two or more languages, the author's name may be given in more than one form. These forms are quoted verbatim following the double slash in sequence as found, separated from each other by a semicolon with any appropriate identification added in parentheses.
The designation of a special function is parenthetically appended to certain author statements. The following designations are used
(Artist)
(Comp.) = compiler
(Ed.) = editor
(Pr.) = praeses
(Print.) = printer
(Publ.) = publisher
(Resp.) = respondent
(Transl.) = translator
Except for praeses and respondent, substitute author designations are used when no textual author is given in preference to listing the work under its title.
Praeses and respondents (dissertations): Generally, without regard for the true authorship of the text of the work, the name of the praeses is entered in the author element and the respondents(s) in the element for special contributor. Excepted from this rule are dissertations held in Tubingen that were published after 1815. These are listed under the true author (which may be the praeses, the respondent or both; in the two latter instances a statement about the authorship is usually given at the end of the dissertation). In some Swedish dissertations the person functioning as the praeses is not identified as such (because this distinction was reserved for professors) but is given as the senior author followed by the respondent as junior author. In such cases, the functional statement is reported in square brackets within parentheses: ([Pr.]). In multipart dissertations, where two or more praeses may have taken part, the first praeses is treated as the senior author and the others as coauthors.
Title page statements of pseudonymous authorship, whose true identity cannot be ascertained, are also reported in this element. Similarly, where only a society or other group is given on the title page and no individual(s) can be identified as author(s), the corporate statement is quoted verbatim, and, if the title page has been seen, this statement is repeated following the double slash.
Coauthor(s)
If a book has more than one author, the junior authors are reported here. In some multivolume works, where certain joint authors were only responsible for particular volumes, the fact is reported within parentheses following the coauthor statement. In order to qualify as a coauthor the name must be given as such on the title page (for multivolume works, on the title page of at least one volume), or, in the absence of any title page author statement, the particular person's involvement must be well known or documented. Individuals only responsible for certain chapters or sections of books are not treated as coauthors but as contributors, and, if their contribution is floristic, they will be reported in the floristic contributor(s) field.
Title
Titles are generally transcribed as far as the first period. However, unimportant portions may be omitted from excessively lengthy titles, and these are indicated by an ellipsis (...). If the continuation of the title includes important information, especially floristic, it is also transcribed. Otherwise, the first word or substantive phrase of the second sentence is provided and followed by an ellipsis.
When the author's name forms part of the title, it is replaced by an ellipsis unless given in the adjectival form, in which case it is retained. If a name is omitted from the end of the title, an ellipsis is only provided when grammatically necessary.
Invocations of deity or headlines that are not properly part of the title are omitted and replaced by an initial ellipsis. (These headlines are reported in the bibliographical notes element.) Certain academic papers in which the true title of the work is given only towards the end of the title page are similarly treated. Names of editors, translators or collaborators contained within the title are omitted from the transcription and are included in the appropriate subsequent elements. However, the names of all other persons mentioned on the title page are retained though their titles and other designations are usually omitted as indicated by ellipses.
In rare instances, such as academic papers, school programs and reprints, the true title may not be given on the title page at all, in which case it is reported within square brackets. For certain oriental book titles an English translation is provided in square brackets after the transliteration. When a title page provides the same title in more than one language, all versions are transcribed and separated from each other by two dashes. The same treatment is used for a title page that lists two or more titles by the same author. When a title page includes different titles by separate authors, each is listed separately, and their names are treated as coauthors and appropriately identified. If a book has more than one title given on different title pages, only one title is listed in this element, and the other titles are reported in the element for alternative titles and title variants.
The volumation statement is generally reported in a subsequent element. However, if the volumation forms an integral part of the title, it is reported as given with an added parenthetical indication of the range of units at the appropriate place (e.g., "... Historiae Aegypti naturalis pars prima (- pars secunda)").
All title transcriptions terminate with a period or an ellipsis whether such punctuation is given on the title page or not. The spelling is transcribed verbatim from the title page or, for undocumented entries, from the alternative source. If accents, normally required by orthography, are lacking in capitalized titling (especially in French, Portuguese and Spanish), they have not been restored in transcription. (The restoration of accents, which is often found in scientific works or bibliographical studies, can mislead a user who seeks an identical comparison between a copy of the book and its description.) If the title contains very unusual spellings or typographical errors, the statement "[sic]" is inserted after the relevant word. Parentheses in titles are transcribed as acute brackets (<>), but parentheses in transcribed title statements are used either to indicate words or letters present on one title page but absent on another or when the range of volumation is expressed as part of the title. If essential punctuation, other than a terminal period, is lacking on a title page, it is provided in square brackets. Any other additions to the transcription, which the editors may have found necessary, are indicated by their enclosure within square brackets.
The capitalization of German, Danish and Russian words follows a title page statement verbatim, except for Latin names, and when the entire title is printed in capitals, the appropriate orthographic rules for capitalization are obeyed. In other languages only the proper nouns and personal adjectives are capitalized. The concept of proper nouns is taken to include names of societies, institutions, etc., provided that their proper name is given. The first words of book titles mentioned within a title and the first word of a title following an initial ellipsis are always capitalized. For scientific (Latin) plant names, generic names and names of higher rank are capitalized, and specific epithets and epithets of varieties are lowercase (even if spelled with a capital letter on the title page). Vernacular (non-Latin) names are normally lowercase unless the name is presented in a scientific form and can thus be regarded as equivalent to a Latin name.
The substantive portion(s) of each title, the short title, is rendered in italics. Whenever the title is referred to within this bibliography, this short title (with any preceding article) is always used.
Edition/Editor
When the title page, or a reliable transcript, was available the edition statement is quoted verbatim. Otherwise, the abbreviation "Ed.," followed by the edition number, is provided. If more than one edition bears the same edition number or statement, the situation is explained in the bibliographical notes element. In multivolume works mixed editions may occur, in which case several edition statements are made and separated from each other by a semicolon with the relevant volume(s) indicated. Inferred edition reports are never provided; instead an explanation is given in the bibliographical notes. A title page edition statement is not always bibliographically correct and can represent an issue rather than an edition. Readers should be aware of the distinction among edition, issue and state and for an explanation may consult Ian MacPhail in Huntia, 1965, 2: 280–285.
If a single editor was involved, the standardized form of the name is reported, family name first, followed by given name(s) and dates of birth and death in accordance with the practice for authors, but the form of the name given on the title page or within the work is not quoted. If more than one editor was involved, all are reported in sequence as found, separated from each other by a semicolon with any explanatory remarks added in parentheses. If a society or other group is cited on the title page as being the editor, and no individual(s) can be identified as such, the corporate statement is reported. If the editor already has been cited as the substitute author for the work, the name is not repeated in the present element unless they functioned as both a general editor and as a special editor for a certain section of it.
Place of Publication and Publisher
The place name is quoted verbatim, omitting prepositions such as in, at and other language equivalents, except for Slavonic languages in which the place name following the preposition is declined and may differ from the nominative form. In Hungarian place names the terminal designation "-ben" (= in) is omitted. Latin place names have their English equivalent, preceded by the equal sign (=), added in parentheses, but the English equivalent in use at the date of publication may differ from the present place name. If no place of publication is given on a title page, its absence is reported as "s.l." (= sine loco). If the place of publication of an undocumented item is uncertain, the name is reported in square brackets. When a title page provides the title in two or more languages, the place name also may be given in corresponding versions. In such a case, all versions are quoted and separated from each other by a semicolon with appropriate explanations in parentheses.
Since many works within this period did not state their publisher, this element often will be absent. When it does occur, the statement of publisher is reported in the sequence given on the title page or other documentary source with the names always converted to the nominative case. If the publisher's name is not given on the title page but is found elsewhere in the work, the name is reported in square brackets with a parenthetical indication of its printed location. When the publisher's name is given in the adjectival form, the nominative case of the personal or business name is provided and followed, in parentheses, by a literal quotation within quotation marks.
Additional publisher information
If more than one publisher was involved, they will be reported here. In multivolume works where publishers may have been only involved with part of the work, they are appropriately identified with explanations in parentheses.
If a publisher has offices in two or more places, all place names are reported, preceding the publisher's name. If the title page gives two or more publishers in different places, each place name with the respective publisher is reported, and explanations, where appropriate, are added in parentheses.
Date
Publication dates are reported in Arabic numerals regardless of the style used on the title page. Dates given according to the French revolutionary calendar are reported verbatim and followed in parentheses by the two equivalent Gregorian years connected by a slash (/; e.g., "An Cinquieme (= 1796/1797)"). If both Gregorian and French revolutionary dates are found together on a title page, they are reported in sequence as given, separated by a period and two spaces. Other punctuation marks printed with the date are omitted, except that parentheses are transcribed as acute brackets. Some imprint dates include the month or day and month of publication in addition to the year, and they are transcribed verbatim. If such a date is given according to the French revolutionary system, the full Gregorian equivalent is given in parentheses (e.g., "Messidor an IV (= June/July 1796)"; "Nivose an 8 (= Dec. 1799/Jan. 1800)"; "1 Floreal an 6 (= 23 Apr. 1798)"). Any other unusual date statements are similarly clarified (e.g., dates according to the Venetian calendar, identified by the abbreviation "M.V." (= more veneto), in which the year started on 1 March, so that books published in January and February of the next Gregorian year were given the previous year's date); or archaic German names for months (e.g., "Hornung 1770 (= Feb. 1770)"). If no date is given on a title page, its absence is reported as "s.d." (= sine dato). Undocumented items, for which the source(s) of information reports an uncertain or approximate date, or none at all, have the imprint date stated in square brackets. However, for dissertations and academic papers in which the imprint does not include a date, the year of the defense of the thesis, or of the celebration, is reported without square brackets. In multivolume works the earliest and latest dates are reported and hyphenated. If the volumes were not published in sequence, this is either explained in parentheses in this element or, preferably, in the bibliographical notes. When the title page dates of all volumes were available, they are listed in chronological order. When a range of dates is given on the title page (e.g., 1828–1835), it is reported as "1828/1835." If the actual date of publication differs from that reported in the work itself, it is added in square brackets. For the chronological arrangement of several versions of the same work by the same author, the actual date, rather than the printed date, dictates the sequence.
Format
The format is expressed as a bibliographical statement of makeup rather than the general indication of size used in library catalogues. As Philip Gaskell explains, "In bibliographical usage the format of a book of the hand-press period means the arrangement of its forms and the subsequent folding of the printed sheets as indicated by the number and conjugacy of the leaves and the orientation of the paper in the gatherings, and is expressed in the terms folio, quarto, octavo, etc." (A New Introduction to Bibliography, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1972, reprinted with corrections 1974, p. 80). In the present work, format is expressed as a numeral with a degree sign, instead of the conventional term (e.g., "2°", "4°"). If different formats occur within the same work, they are reported with explanations in parentheses and separated by the plus sign (+). If the format of a book is oblong (i.e., the width of the text block is greater than the height, as, for example, some atlases), the abbreviation "obl." is added. Half-sheet imposition or quired sheets are described thus: "12° in 6's"; "2° in 4's"; etc. If the format of a book is unknown, this is duly stated.
Plates are a distinct bibliographical entity and often differ in size from the letterpress page. Larger plates were sometimes folded to match the page size and inserted into the volume or else were gathered into a separate volume. But unless title page, wrapper or other printed sources establish the existence of a distinct plate volume, plates are not mentioned in the statement of format.
Printer
The printer's statement is reported in the sequence as found, regardless of whether it is given on the title page or elsewhere in the book. When the printer's name, or that of the firm, is given in the adjectival form, it is converted to the nominative case and followed, in parentheses, by a literal quotation within quotation marks. The designation of the printing shop, preceding or following a personal name, is generally omitted, but when both a business name and the printer's personal name are given, the latter is reported first followed by the business name in parentheses. If the designation of the printing shop is part of the name of the firm, it is retained (e.g., "Typographia Regia").
If more than one printer was involved, all are reported in sequence as found and are separated from each other by a semicolon. In multivolume works where different printers may have been responsible for parts of the work, they are appropriately identified with explanations in parentheses. When the places of printing and publication differ, the former is reported in parentheses following the printer's name. In some imprints the place of printing and the printer precede the publisher's place and name, often in smaller type. This reversal of convention is disregarded, and the two are reported in the regular sequence described.
Volumation
The volumation statement is provided only if a work was published in more than one installment or if the work consists of only one numbered installment, implying a projected series. Three kinds of publication units are recognized: volume(s; vol. or vols.), part(s) and fascicle(s; fasc.), or any combination of these. No matter how diverse or complex the designations of these units may be, a summary statement is provided in English that lists the number of units and their designation. If more than one of these units is involved, the greater unit is stated first, followed by the inferior unit(s) in parentheses. Also stated in parentheses are other kinds of units, such as text and plates, main text and supplements, etc. For documented entries, the complete summary volumation statement is terminated by a colon and followed by a literal quotation of the range of volumation, comprising the first designated unit (and subunit) and a parenthetical statement of the last, the latter with a prefixed hyphen. If the designation of units, or the style of numbering, changes in a work of many installments, the range of each group of units is independently reported and separated from the next by a semicolon. Different kinds of distribution units are separated by the plus sign. Inferred volumation within a numbered sequence is indicated by its enclosure within square brackets, but for works published in completely unnumbered installments, no inferred volumation is provided. Instead, the summary volumation statement explains that all units are unnumbered (e.g., "2 unnumbered vols"; "6 unnumbered parts"). Some examples illustrate the various conditions that can be found in books: "Volume the first (- Volume the third)"; "Tomus I (- Tomus II)"; "Tome premier (- Tome cinquieme) + Collection de planches et cartes"; "[Erster Band] (-Zweyter Band)"; "Dritten Bandes erste Abtheilung (- Dritten Bandes zweyte Abtheilung)"; "Band IV (- Band VI) + Atlas."
Pagination
A pagination statement is only provided for reprints (or preprints). It consists of a hyphenated citation of the first and last page numbers. In some cases more than one set of pagination is given on each page. If the work was printed in more than one part, the pagination is stated separately for each part. If pages are completely unnumbered, they are counted consecutively, and the first and last unnumbered pages are recorded. If blank pages are known to exist, they are appropriately indicated. Pages that form part of a sequence are reported as such, regardless of whether they have a printed page number or not, and without indicating any distinction between printed or inferred page numbers. On the other hand unnumbered pages that do not form part of a sequence are counted separately as unnumbered pages. If it has been possible to verify the pagination, either a summary pagination statement is provided or, in the absence of any information, the explanation, "Pagination not available." The pagination statement ends with a period.
Illustrations
Plates are illustrations separately printed on leaves that do not form part of the letterpress. If illustrations are printed on letterpress pages, even full-page illustrations, they are treated as "text illustrations" and are not reported at all. Decorative engraved or lithographed title pages or half titles, with or without illustrations, are not normally counted as plates, and any exceptions are explained in the bibliographica notes. A summary count of all plates found in the work, including maps, portraits and frontispieces, is provided first and followed by a symbol indicating the type of illustration: "BW" (= black-and-white); "COL" (= colored); "MIXD" (= mixed; i.e., both black-and-white and colored). Some works have copies with either colored or black-and-white plates, others have copies with separate sets of both black-and-white and colored plates, and yet others can be found with combinations of colored, partly colored and black-and-white plates. The numbering of plates and type of reproduction process are not generally reported unless essential in distinguishing variants. Explanations may be provided in parentheses, especially with regard to maps (which includes charts), frontispieces and portraits; for the latter, where possible, the subject of the portrait is identified. When merely the existence, but not the actual number, of plates could be established this is indicated accordingly. The number of plates often varies from copy to copy, and it is sometimes difficult to ascertain the intended number. The differing information provided by various reference works may sometimes be explained by alternative counting methods (leaves versus numbers).
Reprint information
The two types of reprints are reprints of periodical articles (the most common type) and partial reprints from books.
For reprints of periodical articles a full citation includes the following components: periodical title, volumation, pagination and plates, and date. This field will commence with the heading "Reprint information:" and is followed by the periodical title, abbreviated according to the rules laid down in Botanico-Periodicum-Huntianum (BPH, 1968). However, because of information gathered since its publication, a few abbreviations may differ from those given in the current BPH Online or may not be listed there at all.
The volumation may include serial designation, volume, subvolume and part number. The series designation and volume numbers are always stated in Arabic numerals while any subvolume number is stated in Roman numerals, following the volume number and separated from it by a period. The part number is stated as a parenthetical Arabic numeral following the volume or subvolume number. Inferred volumation is indicated by its enclosure within square brackets, (for parts, within the parentheses). The volumation statement ends with a colon and is followed by the pagination statement.
The pagination may be given in Arabic numerals or in uppercase or lowercase Roman numerals, depending on the practice used in the periodical concerned. Certain periodicals have independently paged sections. In such cases an abbreviation for the section title or heading follows the colon and precedes the pagination proper. If several sets of pagination are present in the periodical, but no section titles exist, an explanation within square brackets precedes the pagination proper. If the periodical is unpaged or partially unpaged, the pages are counted consecutively, and the first and last unnumbered pages are reported. The pagination statement ends with a period and is followed either by the plate statement (when present) or by the date.
The plate statement commences with the abbreviation "pl." ("pls." for two or more) followed by the number(s) of plate(s) stated in Arabic or Roman numerals, depending on the practice used in the periodical. Unnumbered plates are reported by a summary statement (e.g., "1 pl."; "7 pls."). If figures are to be specified, they are similarly cited following the abbreviated prefix "fig." (for singular or plural). The plate statement ends with a period.
Four distinct date statements may be associated with a periodical article, though no more than three are used in a citation:
1. The title page date is reported in Arabic numerals following the pagination or plate statement. If the title page date includes the month of publication, it is reported in an abbreviated form preceding the year. In a few cases even the day of publication is given on the title page in which case the full date is reported as day, month (abbreviated) and year. French revolutionary dates are always converted to their Gregorian equivalents. If the title page is undated, the following practice is adopted: If the volume was published as a whole (not in parts), the approximate year date is stated in double brackets: [<>]; if the volume was published in parts, the year date of the relevant part is quoted without any indication in brackets.
2. The part date given in the periodical is reported in square brackets following the title page date; it either adds precision to the title page date, in which case only the month (abbreviated) or day and month are reported, or else conflicts with it and is therefore reported in full within square brackets. If the periodical part is undated, the part date statement is omitted.
3. Any approximated dates that are provided, in the absence of title page or part dates, are stated within double brackets. These are usually derived from later bibliographical studies on dates of publication that generally rely on information external to the periodical itself. However, on occasion the periodical contains dates later than that given on the title page, or in the headline of a part, which can be utilized in making an approximation of the date of publication.
4. The true date of publication, when precisely known, is stated within acute brackets. More often than not it is derived from external sources though occasionally the publication date of a part may be accurately given in the periodical itself. The true date may follow the title page date (if the volume was published as a whole or with undated parts) or the part date.
The date statement ends with a period. However, if the periodical article appeared in installments, the abbreviated periodical title is given once only, followed by progressive statements of volumation, pagination, plate(s) and date(s), separated from each other by semicolons. When the continuation of an article was published in a different periodical, a complete citation of its abbreviated title and other components is reported.
Partial reprints from books are reported as follows: The paragraph commences with the heading "Reprint (or, Preprint) from:" If the book is written by the same person, its short title is reported with any relevant edition statement, place and date of publication, pagination and plates. With multivolume works the sequence is altered to place of publication, volume number, pagination and plates and year. If the reprinted part is written by a different author, the standardized name of the book's author precedes the short title in the citation of the source. In the case of joint authorship, the standardized names of all are reported.
Translator
If the identity of the translator is known and it is one person, the standardized form of the name is reported, family name first, then given name(s) and dates of birth and death, following the practice for authors. However, as with editor(s), the form of name given on the title page or within the work is not quoted. If more than one translator was involved, all are reported in sequence as found, separated from each other by semicolons with any explanatory remarks added in parentheses. If the translator has already been cited in the author statement as the substitute author of the work, the name is not repeated in the present element.
Special contributor
This element is chiefly devoted to respondents and artists. In dissertations defended according to the praeses and respondent system, the former is usually cited as the author in the first element and the respondent(s) here. For multipart dissertations, the respondents are reported in the same order as their contributions with the relevant part number added in parentheses and separated from each other by a semicolon.
In some Swedish dissertations the respondent is not identified as such but instead appears on the title page as the junior author, following the senior author who functioned as praeses. In such cases a reference to the present element is made from the statement for coauthor, and the student's name is reported here, preceded by the heading "Respondent." In the case of Tubingen dissertations published after 1815, if the respondent is identified as the author, that name is cited as author in the author statement, and the name of the praeses is reported here, preceded by the heading "Praeses." In some dissertations, in addition to the respondent, opponents are also mentioned on the title page. Since they had the duty of questioning the student during the oral defense of the dissertation and/or thesis but made no contribution to the preparation of the printed work, their names are not reported.
If the name of an artist is given on the title page and is not already cited in the author statement as the substitute author, it is reported here with the heading "Artist:" followed by the standardized form of the name, family name first, then given name(s) and dates of birth and death. If more than one artist was involved, all are reported in sequence as given on the title page and separated from each other by a semicolon. Only rarely is an artist reported whose name is not given on the title page.
Floristic contributor(s)
The names of floristic contributors are always reported whether they are listed on the title page or not. It consists of the standardized form of the contributor's name, family name first, then given name(s) and dates of birth and death. The title of the contribution is reported in parentheses, followed by the pagination or volumation and pagination, if known. The date is only reported in the case of multivolume works. If only the subject of the contribution is known, but not its actual title, the subject is described, normally in English, within square brackets. If two or more people supplied a joint contribution, they are reported in sequence as found, separated from each other by a semicolon and followed by the title or note of their contribution. If a single contributor wrote various floristic sections in the same work, those contributions are reported within the same parentheses in sequence as found, separated from each other by a semicolon. Each new contributor statement commences on a separate line and is reported in the sequence found, not alphabetically.
Alternative titles and title variants
Alternative titles are those given on additional title pages in a volume; title variants are found on title pages of subsequent volumes or as wrapper titles, half titles and headline titles. Each title reported in this paragraph is preceded by an identification of its type and location. When the distinction between a regular and a variant title is slight, the full title is generally not transcribed, and only the variant portion is reported with any omissions indicated by ellipses. When a substantial portion of an alternative title or title variant differs from that of the regular title, it is rendered in italics. If more than one title statement is included in this paragraph, they are either separated from each other by a semicolon (similar variants), or else each statement starts on a new line (dissimilar variants and alternative titles).
Language/Script note
The language statement is provided when two or more languages are used in the same work or when the language used differs from that implied by the major part of the title. This paragraph explains which portions of the work are written in a particular language, and it may also specify the form of typographical presentation used (e.g., "Text in English and French in parallel columns"; "Text in Latin (rectos) and German (versos)").
The script statement is rarely provided and is mainly reserved for Asian languages, which may be printed in more than one kind of typographical script, or when more than one alphabet has been used in a single work. When the statement is made, it commences with the heading "Script:" followed by the name of the script(s). The title of the work itself is, of course, always transliterated into the Roman alphabet.
Copies
This field reports the location of copies from which documentation has been obtained regarding the work described. Abbreviations for the libraries and institutions are listed in alphabetical order. Two systems of abbreviations for libraries are most generally employed: (a) for the United States and Canada, the National Union Catalog system has been adopted; (b) for the rest of the world the Index Herbariorum system of herbarium abbreviations has been followed (Ed. 6, 1974, was the last edition available to the editors), with additional designations added where possible. However, no new abbreviations have been created for cities not covered by Index Herbariorum; instead, the names of these places are stated in full using uppercase and lowercases (all abbreviations in Index Herbariorum are in uppercase), followed by an uppercase abbreviation derived from the name of the institution. In the few cases where the two systems are in conflict, different abbreviations have been devised in order to avoid confusion. A complete list of the abbreviations for libraries will be included in a future update.
Seen/Located
This field reports copies that have been seen and handled by members of the staff of the Hunt Institute. In some cases variants or different issues may not have been recognized at the time of handling, and copies might therefore be incorrectly cited.
Reported
This field lists copies that have been reported in the literature or by persons not directly connected with the Hunt Institute. In this category copies may prove, on inspection, to belong to a different entry or to be of mixed editions, issues or states, which only partly agree with the description herein. The Hunt Institute welcomes information about holdings that are incorrectly listed or inadvertently omitted.
Reference/Citation
This field is populated by citations (mostly abbreviated) of a number of pertinent reference works, separated from each other by a semicolon. A complete guide to these abbreviated references will be provided in a future update. At its simplest, the citation of a source merely implies that it includes the work described in this bibliography at the place indicated. Reference works often provide critical information about a work described herein, but, unfortunately, they sometimes report inaccurate bibliographical details. If the description of the work provided herein differs materially from that given in a reference source, especially in regard to dates of publication, a comment may be provided in the bibliographical notes field. Otherwise, any slight differences are highlighted in a parenthetical statement following the citation of the source concerned.
Four types of reference sources have been consulted, and works from any or all of these groups may be cited as required:
1. Bibliographies. This is by far the most important group of reference sources as shown by the large number of citations throughout this work. The bibliographies used may be classified into 16 subgroups as follows: General Botany; Regional Botany; Special Botany (special groups of plants or individual botanists); Illustrations; Natural History; Horticulture; Forestry; Agriculture; Medicine; Travel; Dissertations; Rare Books; Regional Bibliographies; General Bibliographies; Unfinished Books; Anonymous & Pseudonymous Books.
2. Library catalogues. These were principally used as sources of information on the whereabouts of copies reported under the headings: Copies, Seen/Located, or Reported. If a library is listed in any of those fields, its catalogue is not normally cited as a source here unless it provided essential information for the compilation of the description herein or if no other reference source is known. It should be cautioned that library catalogues generally describe only the copy in hand, which may differ in some detail from the "ideal" copy described in this or any other bibliography. The same subgroups listed under 1, with the exception of the last two, may be recognized in this group.
3. Biographical works. While the emphasis of this group of reference works is clearly on the author, they nevertheless often provide valuable bibliographical information. They fall into three subgroups: General Biographies (including Encyclopedias); Regional Biographies; Special Biographies (individual authors or special groups).
4. Special sources. These comprise bibliographical studies of individual works or authors and special information provided by various modern books. They are generally reported in full, with the author's family name and initial(s), the title of the book, place and date of publication, and pagination or item number, or in the case of periodical articles, the abbreviated periodical title, volumation, pagination and date(s). If the source of information is a chapter or section within a book, the citation also includes the title of the contribution. Also included among the special sources are reviews and announcements of books published in the periodicals of the period 1730 to 1840. The large number of references to these, kept in the bibliographical files of the Hunt Institute, has been a rich source of information for the preparation of many entries in this bibliography.
Bibliographical notes
These provide information on such topics as whether a work was posthumously published, is incomplete, is a new edition/issue/state, or how it differs from other similar entries (including pagination variations); whether the title pages are engraved or lithographed or have illustrations; the source of the title provided when no title page was published; the source of the volumation statement when not given on the title page; whether different publishers are listed on wrapper or part titles; the absence of any text; the title page dates in multivolume works; information about dates derived from internal evidence, or from external sources (with appropriate references); the date of defense of dissertations, or of the presentation of academic papers [N.B. Dates given according to the Julian calendar (old style) are never converted to the Gregorian calendar (new style)]; whether the work forms part of a publisher's or bookdealer's series; whether an item described as a reprint is a detached copy; any differences between the author's name as given on the title page or as found in the text, or where it occurs if it is not given on the title page; the existence of any variant copies, their distinctive features, location and sources of information; etc.
Floristic contents
For collected works or books with heterogeneous contents, a description of the subject coverage is provided, including identification of any earlier places of publication where necessary. Unless a work is wholly floristic in content and its title clearly states so, information is provided on the specific sections of the text, with appropriate headings and pagination, if known, or else a general statement on the scatter and nature of the floristic content. In the case of joint authorship, where certain sections of the text may have been written by only one, or some, of the authors, their respective contributions are identified.
References to other works and persons
If an earlier or later edition, etc., had a different title, it is mentioned here to assist readers to establish a chronological understanding of the author's work. This does not apply to separately published translations, the original source of which is reported in an earlier element. However, if a translation has been published as part of another work, it is noted here. Similarly, when a new edition, without change of title, has been published as part of another work, it is mentioned here. References are also provided to reviews, commentaries or criticisms published in book form during the period 1730 to 1840. Any continuations, supplements and indices to works included in this bibliography, which were prepared by other authors and published as books after 1840, are cited here. Finally, references are also provided to people mentioned in the title or otherwise associated with the work, such as plant collectors, or those who contributed information about the localities of plants. Generally, the person's standardized form of name is reported, family name first, followed by given name(s) and dates of birth and death. However, if the individual has been fully identified in an earlier element, only the family and given name(s), or initials, are repeated here. No mention is made of persons whose names are merely used in book titles in connection with a botanical concept (e.g., "Linnaean system"; "natural orders according to Lindley"; "classification of de Candolle").
Geographical place(s)
Any geographical area reported in this field is, in the first instance, based on the floristic text itself and may differ from that implied or stated in the title. However, if the book was not available for firsthand study, and no alternative information could be found, the title statement is accepted. Geographical locations are reported, as far as possible, in the language of the text and, if one exists, the modern English equivalent name is added in square brackets. Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary, ed. 3 (1997), will be used as the chief source for modern English names. If the area given in a work is stated in both Latin and a modern language, the latter is reported. Different geographical areas are reported in more or less the same sequence as they are given in the text. However, in more complicated cases, and especially in certain travel works where some areas were visited and described several times, a more systematic arrangement is used to avoid confusion and repetition. Depending on the information available, some entries have a hierarchical arrangement, which progresses from the local area to the larger region that incorporates it, with the place names separated from each other by a colon; adjacent areas are usually separated by a comma and unconnected areas by a semicolon. In other instances, where a large region may be described, special emphasis is placed on one or more smaller areas, and in such a case, the region is cited first and the smaller area is highlighted afterwards. Clarification of some area names is provided in parentheses (e.g., if the same name is applied to different entities (city versus province), or to defunct entities (former county), or to imprecise features (mountain range)).
Geographical number(s)
Geographical numbers are expressed as triple digit numbers, separated from each other by a comma. To satisfy the needs of this bibliography, having regard to the period covered, a hierarchical classification of continents, regions and smaller geographical units down to the level of country or island group has been prepared. The citation of any geographical entity naturally implies the inclusion of its subordinate parts. In a future update we will provide a complete register of all entries, arranged by geographical regions.
HI number
The HI number is an in-house serial number used for data control. It has no authority in any other context.
Title page image
Scans of corresponding title page images when available will accompany the entries.
