Conditions Governing Use

The Library believes that all or nearly all material in this collection is likely to be in the public domain, free of copyright restrictions. Visit our Permissions and Publishing page for more information about use of Special Collections materials. The library can provide copyright information upon request, but users are responsible for making their own determination about lawful use of collections materials.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is minimally processed and open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was purchased from Honey & Wax Booksellers by the Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia on 16 April 2024.

Biographical / Historical Description

The identity of M.Gillet is unknown, but it is possible that this may have been the work of a female student as botany was one of the few scientific pursuits deemed suitable for women in the nineteenth century.

Content Description

This collection contains a single-bound manuscript produced by an English student of botany, dated 1838 with the name and date "M.Gillet" inscribed on the front endpaper with "M. Gillet" stenciled with a floral wreath border in the front free endpaper. The book contains watercolor, pencil, and ink illustrations of plants. The manuscript opens with tissue-guarded images of common English plants, including a key to leaves ("roundish," "linear," "kidney-shaped," "trowel-shaped"). The text appears to be the student's own synthesis of botanical terms and concepts, rather than the transcription of a published work. The fourteen numbered ink plates throughout the text are as follows: "Elementary organs," "Compound organs," "Linnaean classes," "Linnaean orders," and "A table of the primary divisions of the natural order."

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Art and natural history
• Botany
• drawings (visual works)