The Botanical Adventures of Joseph Banks

by Christina Harrison

Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820)—the unofficial first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew—was a peerless scientific adventurer and pioneer. Not only did he reveal the floral wonders of the South Pacific, New Zealand, and Australia to European eyes, but he set Kew Gardens on its path to becoming the world’s foremost botanic garden, bringing in a wealth of rare and useful plants with far-reaching impact. He helped to raise botanical science to new heights and brought many new beautiful plants to Britain, which we now take for granted in our gardens. Quite simply, no one before or after Banks has had such influence in the sphere of botany.
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The Botanical Adventures of Joseph Banks is an unprecedented look at Banks’s botanical life, providing a breezy and entertaining history of his invaluable contributions by highlighting a selection of the intriguing objects, books, and plants from the collections at Kew Gardens—the place he held dear all his life. Banks had a hand in some of Britain’s most well-known historical expeditions, including James Cook’s Endeavour voyages in the Pacific and William Bligh’s Bounty , and the book lavishly showcases his nautical adventures as well as his dedication to botany with art, photos, and engravings from Kew’s collections. Published to coincide with the bicentennial anniversary of his death, The Botanical Adventures of Joseph Banks is a colorful introduction to a one-of-a-kind figure in British history.

128 pages, Hardcover

Published September 26, 2020

Reviews

[Marie Shallcross · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fascinating to learn so much about Banks. Christina's research was detailed but never felt heavy going. I liked the layout too, so praise for that as well as to the author - it made this a book to dip into or sit and read for an hour.

[Amanda Witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small but very detailed book on the plants that Banks discovered in Australia and other places and took back to the Kew gardens to propagate and grow.
Has full page colour reproductions of drawings done

[JJ W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative and well illustrated but language was too colonial and the story did not draw me in

[Nicholas Kruger · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's pretty clear this is a giftshop-style of book for Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, but it's still quite nice. Most of the images come from Kew's collection.

An interesting primer on British horticulture during the Age of Sail with the titular Banks as a catalyst -- it's a short read that occasionally makes attempts to recognize the Imperialism of the era, whilst showing off many beautiful botanical illustrations. About half the book touches on the various artists, collectors, and other men that Banks enabled in the name of this burgeoning science. If you are familiar with Captain Cook's travels, as well as the mutiny on the HMS Bounty, you'll learn some additional context here.

It would be a nice coffee table book if it were larger and printed on glossy stock. As-is, the smallish form factor is a bit strange.