‘Botanica Magnifica’ photographer and authors coming to the Huntington on March 20
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Like John James Audubon’s famous double-elephant folio ‘Birds of America,’ the original edition of ‘Botanica Magnifica: Portraits of the World’s Most Extraordinary Flowers and Plants’ featured large-scale images of rare and exotic plants and flowers. It consisted of five hand-bound volumes and was limited to just 10 copies. Those 10 sets cost between $500,000 and $800,000 to produce.
The collection of Jonathan Singer’s remarkable flower photography is now available in a slip-cased baby-elephant version. More than a coffee table book, ‘Botanica Magnifica’ is an homage to Audubon, a celebration of biodiversity and an eloquent plea for conservation.
Singer, a podiatrist in New Jersey, began his remarkable catalog years ago. He shot the photos with a Hasselblad in very low light to capture every subtlety. As he told CBS ‘Sunday Morning’ last year, ‘I’m trying to show you a glimpse into creation.’
Learn more about the book and botany when Singer and his writer/collaborators W. John Kress (curator of botany at the Smithsonian Institution and author of ‘The Weeping Goldsmith: Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar’) and Marc Hachadourian (curator of Glasshouse Collections at the New York Botanical Garden) come to the Huntington Library for a lecture and book signing.
The event will be March 20 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, and no reservations are required. ‘Botanica Magnifica’ will be available in the Huntington’s bookstore for $135. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens is located at 1151 Oxford Road in San Marino. For further information, call (626) 405-2100. -- Lisa Boone
Photos from left: Costus lateriflorus (closely related to the ginger family); Cynara scolymus (globe artichoke); Curcuma longa (turmeric spice); Musa laterita, (wild banana). Credit: Jonathan Singer
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