The UCSB Library presents Botanical Illustrations and Scientific Discovery - Joseph Banks and the Exploration of the South Pacific, 1768-1771, an examination of the impact of 18th century botanical illustrations. This exhibition will be displayed in Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library from Spetember 20, 2017 until May 31, 2018.
The exhibition will examine 18th century botanical illustrations and their role in documenting not only the plant specimens being collected by Joseph Banks, but the cultural exploration and mapping of a new world. A highlight of the exhibition will be a selection of illustrations from Banks’ Florilegium.
Complementing the illustrations are representations of the plant specimens from the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) that were originally collected on the H.M.S. Endeavor and later disseminated globally bringing South Pacific native species to Southern California and Santa Barbara. The Florilegium itself is comprised of 35 folios featuring 743 copperplate engravings produced from the sketches of plant specimens produced by Scottish botanical artist, Sydney Parkinson.
This exhibition was made possible by the donation of the Banks’ Florilegium from Virginia Gardner and from a larger rare book donation from the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens.