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Some objects are exciting not just because of their intrinsic qualities, but because of the hands they’ve passed through during their lifetime.
This book of horticultural prints was originally owned by R.
J. Harper in 1829, who wrote his name in the book. We know little about him,
except that he was probably from Staffordshire. Later, however, the book
belonged to families who are well known in Birmingham and beyond.
In pencil, we find the names of J. Edmund Southall and
Geraldine Southall Cadbury. These two were brother and sister, born into a
Quaker family based in Edgbaston. Geraldine’s Christian faith inspired her
commitment to social activism, and in 1891 she married Barrow Cadbury, a member
of the famous chocolate-making enterprise and a fellow Quaker and social
reformer. It’s possible that Edmund initially bought the book second-hand – there
is a price of 2/- marked in pencil – and then passed it on to his sister,
perhaps when she got married. The provision of open space and access to nature
was an important element of the Cadburys’ philanthropic work, so it’s not
surprising that they valued these beautiful images of plants.
The book then passed into the hands of Geraldine’s daughter,
Dorothy Adlington Cadbury. Dorothy must have known it since childhood, and
perhaps it played a part in her developing passion for botany. She became an
accomplished botanical illustrator and a keen collector of plant specimens,
although her working life was devoted to being company director for Cadbury.
During the 1950s, Dorothy collaborated with Prof. Jack Hawkes (who was based at Winterbourne) on a book about Warwickshire flora. At some point during their friendship, Dorothy gave the book to Jack and, thanks to his family’s generosity, it is now in Winterbourne’s collection. We also have specimens collected by Dorothy Cadbury in the Herbarium, so we think Dorothy would be pleased that her family’s book has now joined them.