Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation

This catalogue was produced as a companion to an exhibition of mainly 19th- and 20th-century Japanese botanical art. Drawn primarily from the Institute's collection, the works included books, handscrolls, sketchbook albums, woodblock prints and paintings. Talking in Flowers served as a fine introduction to the history of Japanese botanical art. It contained relatively unknown artists and illustrators who were generally only listed in specialized bibliographies. The catalogue was extensively illustrated with color and black-and-white reproductions and featured an essay by John V. Brindle (1911–1991; curator of art, 1961–1982). Brindle's enthusiasm for Japanese botanical art was evident in his lush descriptions of the artworks: "The breath of life and affection blows through them. Flowering branches seem to sway and grow on the pages that hold them. Insects, closely watched by a sympathetic eye not distanced by a microscope, seem more like friends than laboratory specimens."

Errata

Page 16, Figure VII, credit in caption should read: Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University; Purchase, Francis H. Burr Memorial Fund.

Page 21, line 11, acknowledgement should read: Ikenobo Society of Pittsburgh: Mrs. Richard C. Walter, President

Page 21, lines 21 and 22, photograph credit should read: Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University; Purchase, Francis H. Burr Memorial Fund; John Rosenfield, Curator of Oriental Art. Figure VII

Page 23, entry 1, omit "Color"