JOHNSON, Andrew Leonidus "Herbarium and Plant Description" [Allyn and Bacon, 1895]

[HBCU, Atlanta] JOHNSON, Andrew Leonidus. Herbarium and Plant Description.

Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1895. Portfolio, 9.5” x 7.75”, 100pp including 46 mounted and described plant specimens in 47 bi-fold sheets (one begun but uncompleted). Prepared by Andrew Leonidus Johnson at Atlanta University during the Spring term of 1897 (April-May) for “Middle Prep Class”. Portfolio cover soiled/rubbed and front hinge cracked. Ties intact but quite worn. All specimens remain firmly attached to their mounts and, apart from mild toning, the bi-fold sheets have been well protected by the portfolio. Good portfolio with Very Good specimens.

Andrew L. Johnson was from Macon, Georgia and prepared this portfolio for Professor Gray’s Botany Class. All samples were collected around the Atlanta area, covering a variety of plant types but heavily leaning towards flowers (the Rose family specifically). 

Founded in 1865 to educate newly freed African Americans, Atlanta University was one of the earliest and most prestigious historically Black colleges in the South. By the 1890s, it offered rigorous academic training, including in the sciences, at a time when few institutions provided such opportunities to Black students. This herbarium, collected in 1897, is a rare intact example of scientific study carried out by a student at a pioneering institution during a time of limited access to higher education. Today, Atlanta University is part of Clark Atlanta University, continuing its legacy of Black scholarship and leadership.