The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation (HIBD), dedicated as the Rachel McMasters Miller Hunt Botanical Library in 1961, is a research division of

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technolog ...

History

HIBD is named for

Rachel McMasters Miller Hunt Rachel McMasters Miller Hunt (1882-1963) was an American bookbinder and book collector, specializing in botanical literature. Early life Rachel McMasters Miller was born in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, in 1882 to Rachel Hughey McMasters Miller (186 ...

. She donated a collection of botanical books to the University to create HIBD. An annual monetary award is given in her honor by the institute. HIBD was dedicated October 10, 1961. George H. M. Lawrence was the founding director. In 1970, Gilbert Daniels, became the 2nd director. T. D. Jacobsen succeeded Robert Kiger as director in 2019.

Description

HIBD is an institution of international

bibliographical Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

research in the fields of

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, and

plant science Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

history. It has a research library with over 30,000 works and art holdings. It includes art and bibliography departments. HIBD is better known internationally than in the U.S. It has a collection of botanical paintings (many of them

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

), drawings, and prints dating from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

to contemporary works. Its Library has from an equally expansive time frame. HIBD hosts public exhibitions, including the triennial International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration exhibitions since 1964. That exhibition coincides with the American Society of Botanical Artists educational conference in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylv ...

Journals

* 'Botanico-Periodicum-Huntanium' (first started in 1968, Sept 2004 BPH2 began) * 'Bulletin of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation' * 'Catalogue of Botanical Books in the Collection of Rachel McMasters Hunt' * ' Huntia' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. In continuous publication since 1964, this journal is the Institute's scholarly journal of botanical history. The journal is published irregularly in one or more numbers per volume of approximately 200 pages by Hunt Institute. Starting with volume 17, the journal is now only published online and in colour.Elisabeth B. Davis and Diane Schmidt

References

{{authority control Botanical research institutes Carnegie Mellon University