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Welcome to Botany at the Worth Library

This exhibition explores the botanical collections of the library of Edward Worth (1676-1733). Worth was an early eighteenth-century Dublin physician, fascinated by medicine, science and the book as material object and all three interests are reflected in his extensive botanical collection which incorporates ancient works alongside sixteenth and seventeenth century herbals, a host of floras and a large section on botanical taxonomy. This web exhibition, curated by Dr. Elizabethanne Boran (Librarian) and Dr Emer Lawlor (a Trustee of the Edward Worth Library), celebrates Edward Worth’s wonderful collection of botanical books, some of which will be on display in the Worth Library. It will be the fifth in a series of websites exploring the scientific and medical holdings of the Worth Library. For further details please contact our website: www.edwardworthlibrary.ie.

Besler, Hortus Eystettensis (Nuremberg?, 1640), Flos Solis maior.

The Edward Worth Library is a rare books collection, bequeathed to Dr. Steevens’ Hospital, Dublin, by Dr. Edward Worth, who was one of the  Hospital’s earliest Trustees. This exhibition focuses on some of the highlights of Worth’s collection but does not attempt to give a comprehensive examination of his large collection of botanical texts, which included a large section on gardens. We hope to present an exhibition on gardens at a later date.

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