In our 24/7 2.0 wired world it's refreshing to think about simpler, slower-paced times. Today I came across a great book, Women of Flowers: A Tribute to Women Illustrators by Jack Kramer. It tells the story of 30 women artists who contributed to the art and science of botany but were almost completely unrecognized in their time.
The reproduced illustrations are lovingly rendered works of art and the women's stories are highly compelling. For example, one the artists featured is naturalist Susan Fenimore Cooper (1813-1894), daughter of James Fenimore Cooper, author of The Last of the Mohicans.
According to Kramer, Susan traveled with her father and acted as his secretary, copying and arranging his notes. She also kept her own daily diary, which was later turned into a book called Rural Hours by a Lady.
Kramer describes it as "a rambling yet highly observant look at daily life in upstate New York in the 1850s, with long discussions about nature and accomplished drawings of the flowers, plants, and birds indigenous to that area. Unlike many sentimental flower books that were so popular in England at the time, Rural Hours was almost scientific in the descriptive details of the environment. At the same time, it afforded a fascinating look at the everyday life of the country woman in mid-nineteenth-century America."
Asters are a flower that naturalist Susan Fenimore Cooper encountered on her long walks in upstate New York.
He's right. It is a wonderful window into another time. Here's a sample from Rural Hours:
"Friday, 13th -- Delightful Day. Long walk in the woods. Found a few asters and golden-rods, silver-rods, and everlastings, scattered about. The flowers are becoming rare, and chary of their presence; still, so long as the green grass grows, they lie scattered about, one here, another there, it may be in the shady woods, or it may be in the flower-border; reminding one of those precious things which sweeten the field of life -- kindly feelings, holy thoughts, and just deeds -- which may be gleaned by those who earnestly seek them, even in the latest days of great pilgrimage."
