It's true this book is superb on SO MANY LEVELS. Read Willa Glickman's in-depth feature on 'An Illustrated Catalog of American Fruits & Nuts: The U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection' and the USDA illustrators' role in bringing the world’s fruits to American supermarkets. "In a time before color photography was widespread, USDA artists, many with decades-long careers at the agency, created 7,584 technically accurate illustrations to record this cornucopia of the new. Along with short essays, including excerpted musings on fruit from Michael Pollan and John McPhee, the catalog contains the most visually striking of these images, from the incandescent King tangor to the dusky, green-fleshed Tragedy plum.… Though we now eat fruits from every part of the globe in every season, the selection we enjoy is far more limited than the one promised by the USDA’s mouthwatering collection. The concerted efforts of plant explorers, researchers, breeders, marketers, government officials, entrepreneurs, and giant corporations enabled fruit to flow around the globe—but at a human, ecological, and ultimately gustatory cost." Read the full feature via linkinbio. @usdagov @adamgollner @michael.pollan @marinavitaglione #botanicaldrawings #botanicalwatercolors #pomologicalwatercolors #pomology #botanicalillustration #nationalagriculturallibrary @nybooks https://www.instagram.com/p/CWeLMy8J5fm/?utm_medium=tumblr