Language of flowers

A rose is a rose is a rose...but in the Language of Flowers it is also a nuanced message of love.  And so is a red tulip, a rhododendron blossom and a blooming ranunculus.

The Language of Flowers, the popular art of communicating sentiments through carefully chosen arrangements of flowers and herbs, saw its glory days in Victorian era Europe and North America—though the language has even deeper roots in the 17th century Ottoman court of Constantinople, where the tulips native to the Turkish countryside created possibilities for gorgeous bouquets filled with both color and secret meaning.  As Valentine’s Day approaches, there may be no better time to explore some of the poetic power of floral vocabulary in the ways of romance.

One great place to start would be the Language of Flowers collection at Mann Library, which came to us as a gift from the personal library of Isabel Zucker made by her daughter Judith Zucker Clark ‘53.

This unique collection includes exquisitely illustrated floral dictionaries, books of sentimental verse, and moral fables from 19th century Europe and North America.  How might you correctly declare your unequivocal love in a bouquet of color? Express a seal of friendship? Ask for a dance? Or maybe even give silent voice to some painful disappointment?

The Albert R. Mann Library's Language of Flowers video clip, produced for the Valentine’s Day occasion, will give you an idea. Featured bouquet illustrations and the meanings associated with them have been gleaned from two books, Flora’s Dictionary by Mrs. E. W. Wirt (Baltimore, 1855) and The Language of Flowers by Charlotte de La Tour (London, 1834) in Mann’s special collections.  These and other works about the Language of Flowers in our special collections may be browsed upon special request at the Mann Library circulation desk. (Images included in the show below are also viewable on Mann's Flickr photostream.)

See the slideshow here:

http://youtu.be/O5FPeFhc3G4