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Eight of the
College's early herbals are on view in the Front Library
of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (9 Queen
Street , Edinburgh) from 6 October until 2 November,
Monday – Friday, 10 – 4. These works provided some of
the source material used by Victoria Crowe OBE, MA(RCA),
RSA, RSW in preparing her 2007 Royal Scottish Academy
Exhibition, Plant Memory which is open from
5 October until 4 November, 2007.
The website
shows recent works by Victoria Crowe and images taken
from these 16th century herbals in the College Library.
It provides more images from the books than can been
seen in the physical exhibition where only a single
opening of each book can be displayed.
For millennia,
plants provided most of the
medicines available. The Library of the Royal College
of Physicians of Edinburgh has included botanical works
since it was founded by the doctor, botanist, geographer
and natural historian Sir Robert Sibbald in 1682 and
it is very appropriate that one of the first ventures
of the College's new Sibbald Historic Library Project
- which will expand the accessibility of materials in
the College's magnificent collections - should be botanical
in nature.
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