Cynthia Edson writes “Late this year over 4,000 items(booth books and journals) from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society library were sold to the Chicago Botani Garden for app. $3 million, according to letters filed with the Mass. attorney general’s office. Last week (Dec. 18) Christie;’s NY sold another 132 rare items for $2,452,325 (christies.com).The long descriptive list of the items is a journey through botanical history, including a couple on rare orchids: what with “Adaptation” opening this month the Orchid Thief has raised interest there(that item,lot no. 10) sold for $$7,170.”US dollars”).
While the Mass Society insists the materials that went to Chicago”had not been used or properly cared for in decades” the Chicago press release makes the items look much more attractive than something “stored in the basement of Horticultural Hall”. That building was sold last year when the Society moved to its new location of Elm Bank in Wellesley where, it insists, the profits will be used to help construct a humidity controlled environment for the remaining collection of l9th and 20th century items along with some 500 rare and historic things that were kept.
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