Pressed for Time: Botanical Collecting as Genteel Pastime or Scientific Pursuit?

Widely popular nationwide in the 1820s, botanical collecting was practiced by both laymen and professionals. Plant collecting was a respectable pastime for women, children, and gentlemen alike. Amateurs and professionals respected each other as colleagues. By 1900, however, a divide had grown between the two that fractured the collaborative spirit that had existed for decades

Highlighting botanical collecting in Connecticut from 1885 – 1944, this exhibition will present numerous beautiful and fragile, historical herbarium sheets. These pressed and

dried plants were made for both study and pleasure, destined to be useful for decades after collection. Visitors will be introduced to the many collectors and learn of the diverse reasons they collected their specimens. Some collected for purely scientific reasons; others to enjoy relaxing walks in the fields.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.