Cabinets, envelopes, boxes and tins.

Today I visited the Herbarium at Manchester Museum, in order to gain a wider insight into the world of plant matter while working on my most recent project "Not Just Fleurons". The work in the Herbarium is based upon the extensive research and reference collections of preserved plants. There are about one million specimens, from all across the world; and some of which are the first ever specimens to have been recorded from that particular species.

I was in awe at just how much there was to look at; it was all fairly overwhelming and I really wasn't sure where to begin. I was also quite aware that the majority of the specimens were extremely fragile, often only one-of-a-kind and much of them up to 200 years old, so handling them was quite a daunting experience. 

Although the plants were fascinating in themselves, I was more intrigued by the way in which they had been collected and stored. There were hundreds upon hundreds of carefully filed boxes and cabinets - some of which featuring some really beautiful old stamps and type. There were also boxes of small packages containing moss samples, which had been intricately folded up in old newspaper sheets, old letters and envelopes dating back to the 1800s. The type on the paper and tactile quality of these little packages were really intriguing and fragile; they seemed a lot more precious knowing that they were wrapped in fragments of the past. A lot of these were then stored in old cigarette tins and old packaging, which featured some really lovely type and illustrations. 

Maybe I missed the point of this visit slightly - I ended up spending more time looking at the packaging than I did the actual plant matter. However, this was possibly a valid activity too. My brief is to come up with a way of showing the importance that plants have on our lives; and the way in which they are so carefully stored shows that they are treasured by many. People have spent a long time collecting, referencing, studying and curating these millions of specimens. If plants weren't important to us then this wouldn't be done. The way in which they are stored becomes a part of how we treasure these species; time is taken in keeping them in decent condition (mercury solution is used to preserve and reduce the risk of insect infestation - which is extremely poisonous to humans) so it is clear that these are highly valued fragments of information.