Wow! Three articles published . . .

Wow! Three articles about the library published in as many months. The Rosarian Library is reaching a wider public! I am thrilled as I know, for the rosarian, it is a great resource and for me personally it is rewarding to see the library grow and its many books providing information for people with an amazing range of projects.

The first article appeared in the February 2018 ‘Rose Society UK’ Newsletter, the second in the Spring 2018 ‘Historic Roses Group Journal’ and the third in the July issue of ‘Gardens Illustrated’ all of which I enjoy reading myself. I would like to thank the editors of these three publications for recognising that the theory behind the pratice is worthy of promotion and for including The Rosarian Library among their pages..

The Rose Society logo

An organisation promoting the rose across the UK.

I hope that many rose enthusiasts enjoyed the articles and appreciate the great diversity of subject matter that can be contained in the books about one particular flower. I know most rose enthusiasts prefer growing roses rather than reading about them but I do think that many of the books that have been published in the UK since that very first one in 1799 can enhance our love and appreciation of The Rose.

My great love is for the 19th century rose books which I still find inspirational and informative today. In my research into 19th century rose literature including not just books but catalogues, periodicals, articles and pamphlets I am pleased to discover that other like minded people have gone before me and have left behind articles about rose literature that are useful for my own research. I hope that I can build on these by gathering further information that will be useful to the researchers of the future.

Articles which I have found useful include:

  • Arthur William Paul ‘The Literature of The Rose’ The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society (1913-1914) Vol.39.

  • Mrs H.R. Darlington ‘Rose Literature of the Past Fifty Years’ The Rose Annual of the National Rose Society 1926 (pp. 79 – 101).

  • Theo Mayer ‘Victorian Rose Literature’ The rose Annual of The Royal National Rose Society 1970 (pp. 139 – 170).

Historic Rose Journal logo
The journal of The Historic Roses Group, an organisation promoting timeless roses.

Then, of course, there are those dedicated individuals who have collated all books and articles into Bibliographies. These are incredibly useful when researching book titles, authors, publishers, dates etc as much of the tedious work has been done for you. A concern is that the most recently published bibliography of Rose Books, that I know of, only collates books written before 1984. I hope there is an entreprising person who is taking on the challenge for the last 30 years and as we go forward.

The work of the library flourishes and the books increase in number. Books dedicated solely to the rose are the main focus but the gardening books with some rose information and those discussing garden history I find difficult to ignore, especially the older ones. My research about 19th century rose literature is slowly coming together but still has a fair way to go. I am always pleased to put my personal research aside for various projects that come in. Other peoples research seems so much more interesting than mine. Perhaps because I usually know little about the subject and have to use the Rosarian Library literature to find out, which is ‘the object of the exercise’, of course.

Gardens Illustrated logo
One of the nations favourite Gardening Magazines.

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