Heirloom harvest : modern daguerreotypes of historic garden treasures

On two hundred acres in the Hudson Valley, Amy Goldman grows heirloom fruits and vegetables-an orchard full of apples, pears, and peaches; plots of squashes, melons, cabbages, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and beets. The president of the New York Botanical Garden has called her perhaps the world's premier vegetable gardener. It's her life's work, and she's focused not only on the pleasures of cultivating the land or feeding her family-she's also interested in preserving our agricultural heritage, and the beautiful and unique heirlooms that truly are organic treasures. Over nearly fifteen years, the acclaimed photographer Jerry Spagnoli has visited Amy's gardens to preserve these cherished varieties in another way-with the historical daguerreotype process, producing ethereal images with a silvery, luminous depth and a timeless beauty, underscoring the historical continuity and value of knobby gourds, carrots pulled from the soil, and fruit picked fresh from the tree. In Heirloom Harvest, his photographs are accompanied by an introduction by Amy, a foreword by Jerry Spagnoli, and an afterword by M Mark-comprising an exquisite package, an artist's herbarium worthy of becoming an heirloom itself.… (more)