Books -> Garden Trees
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees
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by:
More, David
White, John
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Publisher:
Timber Press
Published: OR
ISBN: 0881925209
Format:Hardcover
Pages:800
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Book Description
From Publishers Weekly
Artist More's "personal project to record in detail as many tree species, varieties and cultivars as he could find in the British Isles and Ireland" evolved into an ambitious but ambiguous publishing project. The result,
"primarily a book for pleasure-far from a botanical text-book," is too heavy for a field guide, too small for a place on the coffee table, and too Euro-centric to be of practical value to American gardeners. It will be valued here by a discerning but
limited audience. A fine painter with a naturalist's eye, More depicts trees and their parts meticulously. The quality of reproduction does his work justice, but the crowded layout does not. Several of the 2,000 color illustrations, all in limbo against
the white of the page, are grouped together on each spread. The addition of whimsical birds, animals, and people provides scale. White's text is informative but inconsistent-a scholarly meditation on each tree rather than parallel descriptions. Hardiness
is expressed as percentages rather than the familiar USDA zone numbers, and the "garden value" of a given tree may be rated both "excellent" and "of less merit" with no explanation why. In all, More and White have succeeded at creating a remarkable body
of work. Had they presented it as a series of field guides or a folio of annotated illustrations, they might produced a book with more promising commercial prospects here as well.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product
Description:
This book has been more than 12 years in the making, beginning with two years of research and planning followed by 10 years of on-site, meticulous painting of individual living trees as well as their detailed parts by painter David More.
More is a supremely gifted botanical artist who managed in 10 years of his life to paint each of the more than 2000 individual color illustrations beautifully presented in this handsome new book.
The main section is devoted to 377 double-page
spreads, which describe and illustrate more than 1000 species and varieties of trees. The trees illustrated were selected because they are commonly cultivated in England and continental Europe; most are also to be found in American gardens, and some are
indeed native to North America. A small percentage of the trees documented will not be hardy enough for the most severe climates; hardiness information is provided. Each deciduous tree is illustrated with both a summer painting in full leaf and a winter
silhouette. Both deciduous and evergreen trees are illustrated as well with close-up artwork detailing leaves or needles, bark, blossoms, fruit, nuts, or cones.
This book is a must-have for any reader with an interest in trees, whether he or
she wishes to grow them, identify them, or simply take pleasure in the minutely detailed and beautifully drawn artwork of David More.
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