Celebrating Spring with the Lenhardt Library of the Chicago Botanic Garden

There is still a nip in the air across Illinois but this week marks the calendar’s first week of Spring. To celebrate Spring and to turn our minds toward warmer weather, the IDHH highlights the Lenhardt Library of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s collection in the Illinois Digital Archive. The collection features more than 100 digitized books, postcards, and photography. These digital items represent a tiny fraction of the Lenhardt Library’s rare book collection, which provides 500 years of research on nearly all things related to botany, horticulture, agriculture, gardening, landscaping, and botanical art.
The first three items below are postcards featuring photomechanical prints of original photographs and paintings of botanical landmarks in Lincoln Park, Jackson Park, and Washington Park. All of these places, the Conservatories in Lincoln Park and Washington Park and the Japanese Garden in Jackson Park are still extant.

The last items are photographs from the 1965 Chicago World Flower and Garden Show. First held in 1847, the tradition continues to this day.

Thanks to our contributor, the Lenhardt Library of the Chicago Botanic Gardens. See all of their items in the DPLA or check out all IDHH items with the subject, “Spring.”

St. Patrick’s Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! The Illinois Digital Heritage Hub celebrates by highlighting collections at the Lake Forest Academy and the Quincy Public Library.
Lake Forest Academy has a long and fascinating legacy that encompasses the history of Ferry Hall, which merged with the Academy in the 1970s. In the image below, students in costume gather for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner and festivities.

Ferry Hall Students and Faculty gather around a table for dinner on the Feast of Saint Patrick.
Saint Patrick’s Day Dinner, Ferry Hall, circa 1895. Lake Forest Academy. Lake Forest Academy and Ferry Hall Archives. Permission to display was given by the Lake Forest Academy.

The Quincy Public Library has long been a cornerstone of its town and community. The images below capture the library’s participation in Quincy’s celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in the early 1990s.

In addition to the Quincy Public Library and the Lake Forest Academy, check out other St. Patrick’s Day themed items contributed by IDHH institutions, including a rich set of items provided by the University of Illinois at Chicago.