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It is said that the Mary Gunn Library of SANBI is the largest botanical library of its kind in Africa and possibly in the southern hemisphere ; it also makes use of the most modern equipment available. Its origin dates back to 1916 with the appointment of Miss Mary Gunn as a clerk in the then division of Botany, Department of Agriculture. She was given the enormous task of building up a library with a few books on mycology. This was a daunting task for somebody who knew nothing about botany or botanical literature, but she set about this task with enthusiasm and dedication and soon became an authority on botanical literature. The classification system used in the library is the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) and at present holds 10 137 books, 947 journal titles of which 248 are current titles and 2656 pamphlets. Subjects covered are taxonomy, morphology, anatomy, plant geography, conservation ecology, history of botany, palaeobotany and plant exploration. The library also houses a magnificent Africana and rare antiquarian book collection. One of the numerous treasures in the library is one of only 18 broadsheet editions of Pierre-Joseph Redouté's Les Liliacees , which appeared between 1807 and 1816. Redouté, born in Belgium , was the most celebrated of botanical artists. Redouté himself finished the plates in this edition by hand. According to Antonia Ridge (1974), recent biographer of Redouté, Napoleon was so impressed with Les Liliacees that he ordered copies of a regally bound volume of 62 ‘instalments' to be sent to important museums and libraries all over France and Europe and to every European monarch, ambassador and distinguished artist. Mary Gunn tracked this rare find down in England and persuaded Pretoria businessman, Charles Maggs, to foot the bill. She also had General Jan Smuts play courier. The book was part of his personal luggage when he returned home after the First World War. Please make an appointment if you wish to visit the library. Tel: +27 12 843 5000. Fax: +27 12 804 8740 Email: potgietere@sanbi.org or fourie@sanbi.org Journals Received Regularly (.pdf ) If you have difficulty accessing the Mary Gunn catalog, please contact your service provider and email webmaster@sanbi.org
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