UVA History of Childhood, Parenting, and Family Building-addition 67- Florence Eleanor Paget sketchbook and herbaria

Content Description

This addition to MSS 16758, The University of Virginia Collection on the History of Childhood, Parenting, and Family Building, contains a sketchbook and herbaria belonging to Florence Eleanor Paget (1887-1965). Paget was a professional nature illustrator and artist from England who studied under George Vernon Stokes, a British wildlife and landscape artist. She made these books when she was a young woman, roughly between 1900 and 1910. One oblong linen book is labeled "Sketches" in pencil on the rear cover, and the owner's signature is on the pastedown in the front of the book. The other is an oblong publisher's cloth binding in green with "Flora" stamped in gilt. Paget likely drew in the "Sketches" book when she was twelve or thirteen. The book has forty drawings in pencil and watercolors. The subjects include landscapes like Redcar Pier, Saltburn Cliffs, Kew Gardens, Etal Church, and Etal Castle, as well as many sketches of her dogs, observations of people, fruit, and fauna. Some drawings have captions that identify the place or provide a funny caption. The book titled "Flora," a herbaria, was likely created five to ten years after the "Sketches" book. Dried flowers and plants are artfully pasted down and numbered. She wrote the binomial names in cursive, opposite of the pasted-down plants. There are a total of six total entries. The books are mainly written in English, except for one sketch with a caption in French and the Flora books with scientific names in Latin.

Acquisition Type

Purchase

Provenance

Purchased from Marginalia Rare Books, 9 August 2024.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

No

Access Restrictions

The Flora herbarium is restricted due to its fragility. A digitized version is available for viewing. If you need to see the physical copy, please send a request through our online request portal: https://library.virginia.edu/special-collections/services/reference-request.