A herbarium of roses in early 19th century at the crossroad between botany and horticulture: interwoven networks, entangled curiosities

Abstract

This article focuses on the herbarium created in the early 19th century by André Dupont (1742-1817), a French rose-grower. This herbarium is uncommon because the author took many liberties with the botanical standards of the time in the selection of plants, the names, the classifications, the organization of the plates, and the content of handwritten notes on the labels, among others. Adopting a historiographical approach to collections as encounters between networks rooted in disparate or neighboring cultures, the article argues that the significance of such a disconcerting object is enhanced by its contextualization in both the status of the author and the history of the plants it contains. It demonstrates that Dupont’s herbarium of roses expresses a form of curiosity, inspired by botanical practice but oriented towards a special kind of gardening, that of connoisseurs. It reflects a way of thinking and paying attention, with a concern for plant cultivation and preservation that is representative of a new insight into the diversity of roses in the early 19th century.