Seed Catalogs

One of the things that I TRULY miss about DC is the Smithsonian and that all of their museums are free.  As everyone is prepping their gardens this spring for the upcoming harvest I came across the trade catalogue collection which is housed in the Smithsonian Institution Libraries.  The collection has seed and nursery catalogues dating all the way back to 1830.  As stated on their home page,

"seed trade catalogs document the history of the seed and agricultural implement business in the United States, as well as provide a history of botany and plant research such as the introduction of plant varieties into the United States.  Additionally, the seed trade catalogs are a window into the history of graphic arts in advertising, and a social history, through the text and illustrations, showing changing fashions in flowers and vegetables."

While the collection does not travel, you can set up a time to see portions of the collection in person.