“The Carolinian Florist” of Governor John Drayton of South Carolina, 1798

Governor John Drayton (1766 – 1822), an amateur botanist of considerable talent, prepared an English translation of Thomas Walter’s botany of regional plants, previously written in Latin. He presented this manuscript, in two parts, to the Charleston Library Society (1798) and the South Carolina College (1807). The two were combined in The Carolinian Florist of Governor John Drayton, published in 1943. This facsimile of the Drayton manuscript at the Charleston Library Society was produced in 2012.

 

“The Carolinian Florist” of Governor John Drayton of South Carolina Calico flower from Drayton's The Carolinian Florist. Courtesy of the Charleston Library Society.