This is not just a filing cabinet. It is a tardis, and a time capsule of garden history...
Call me a nerd but nothing is more exciting than taking delivery of a new object or archive for the collections. So it was with a spring in my step that I arrived at Vincent Square one morning full of the knowledge that this little beauty would be delivered to its new home in the Lindley Library.
What lurks inside? The photo archive of writer and photographer Patrick Taylor, the author of books such as
The Gardener’s Guide to Britain and
Period Gardens. These transparencies provide a mouth-watering record of his travels round the best British and European gardens, carefully documenting the style and spirit of each place.
The next step is to get stuck in and document and digitise the transparencies, then to unleash them upon awaiting researchers, students and garden history fiends.
For now though it’s just me and them. I’m slightly damp-eyed and trembling of hand as I reach towards the first drawer eager to gloat over the beauties within. Yes – you can call me a nerd.
