Svenska Lafvarnas Färghistoria

Johan Peter Westring (1753-1833), a Swedish physician and lichenologist, studied under Linnaeus at the University of Uppsala and continued his botanical interests while practicing as a medical doctor. This book of his explored lichens’ potential usefulness as dyes for textiles, and the hand-colored plates illustrate what colors can be produced from which species of lichens. There is only one other copy of the work in the Washington area. Westring’s research was based on his clarification of lichen taxonomy and species identification, so it is directly relevant to botanists studying lichens at the Smithsonian.