the USDA and agricultural colleges were bringing new varieties to the United States from foreign expeditions, and developing experimental tracts for these fruits. In response to this increased interest and activity, USDA established the Division of Pomology in 1886 and named Henry E. Van Deman as chief pomologist. An important focus of the division was to publish illustrated accounts of new varieties and to disseminate research findings to fruit growers and breeders through special publications and annual reports.

The introduction of new varieties required exact representations of the fruit so that plant breeders could accurately document and disseminate their research results. Since the use of scientific photography was not widespread in the late 19th Century, USDA commissioned artists to create watercolor illustrations of newly introduced cultivars (more information on the artists). Many of the watercolors were used for lithographic reproductions in USDA publications, such as the Report of the Pomologist and the Yearbook of Agriculture.

Today, the collection of approximately 7,700 watercolors is preserved in NAL's Special Collections, where it serves as a major historic and botanic resource to a variety of researchers, including horticulturists, historians, artists, and publishers. Selected images from the collection are also on permanent exhibition on the first floor of the library.

The exhibit presented here consists of approximately 175 images of fruit watercolors. All of the fruit varieties featured in the exhibit were introduced and described in the Report of the Pomologist between 1886 and 1900. The actual watercolors of the varieties may not have been completed until sometime after the report publication. The exhibit selections are arranged under the common fruit names listed below. To see the selections organized by USDA artist, go to the artists' page.

Additional resources on the watercolor collection:

Morelli, P. L. 1987. Index to the United States Department of Agriculture pomological watercolor collection. Westport, CT: Meckler Corp; Cambridge, England: Chadwyck-Healy Ltd. An index to the microfiche copy of the watercolor collection--entries are arranged alphabetically by genus, species and cultivar.

The National Clonal Gerplasm Repository, Corvallis, Oregon, (NCGR-Corvallis) is collaborating with NAL's Special Collections in an ongoing project to identify and scan watercolors of the fruit crops preserved at the Corvallis Clonal Repository. The images scanned to date can be accessed through the NCGR-Corvallis.

White, J. J., and E. A. Neumann. 1982. The collection of pomological watercolors at the U.S. National Arboretum. Huntia 4(2):103-23.

Wood, M. 2000. Pomological watercolors: a wealth of beauty and detail. Agricultural Research 48(9):12-13. (Also available online through the ARS.)