Science Saturday
James Edward Smith (1759-1828) was an English botanist who founded the Linnean Society of London in 1788, becoming its first President, a post he held until his death. In 1783, Smith acquired the entire collection of books, manuscripts, and specimens of the Swedish natural historian and botanist Carl Linnaeus. Smith’s library and botanical collections attained international fame and were consulted by naturalists throughout Europe.
Among his many published works is An Introduction to Physiological and Systematical Botany, originally published in 1807. Our copy is the 5th corrected and enlarged edition published in London by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green in 1825, and includes 15 engraved plates at the back of the volume. This copy is from the collection of noted Black Hills historian Watson Parker, and came to us as part of a donation of his books from UW-Oshkosh where Parker taught for 21 years.
View some of our other botanical posts.
View other Science Saturday posts.
