Columbian Raspberry

Sales Brochure from E.D. Smith Helderleigh Nurseries, Winona, Ont. Archives & Special Collections-10th
Floor-Stacks ; FC 3168 W5 Z638 1890

On this illustrated page from this nursery catalogue, we can see an image of a woman in a white dress standing on a chair harvesting raspberries. There is a distinct sense of depth to this image–the shrubbery behind the woman is rendered in vibrant detail, the shading of each individual leaf coming together with the vibrant red of the raspberries to create a stunning picture. This is only one of the many colourful, detailed illustrations within this catalogue for E.D. Smith’s tree and fruit nursery
in the late nineteenth century.

This is an illustrated booklet advertising the fruit trees and ornamental plants sold by E.D. Smith in the years before he shifted away from selling fruits and plants. While his company pivoted towards selling jams by the early 1900s, this booklet, created in 1895, covers a
comprehensive list of the various fruit, flower, and tree cultivars sold by E.D. Smith before then.

The full colour glossy illustrations by Rochester Lithographing and Printing Co. show the wide variety of plants sold to farmers by the company at the time. This booklet was likely carried by salesmen advertising these goods to prospective buyers, the colourful inked prints and sturdy paper a testament to the quality of this booklet. Even today, the bright reds, yellows and greens of an apple, and the delicately rendered details of a rosebush, are still clear and vibrant.

Plant and tree sellers like this didn’t exist independently in a bubble. Correspondence from Stone and Wellington, a local tree nursery from Niagara, mentions the possibility of buying “cions”, or scions, the upper portion of a fruit tree graft, from E.D. Smith, provided they be “treated with the gas” beforehand. [1] This kind of archival record speaks to connections between local businesses at the time. While the Stone and Wellington Nursery is no more and E.D. Smith’s company soon pivoted towards jams and other preserved goods, these documents link together their pasts, painting a clearer picture of the agricultural and botanical history of Niagara.

-Text by Gabrielle Chiong (VISA 2P90)

*This image is part of the “Women, Water, and Words” exhibition that students in VISA 2P90 curated in the Winter 2024 semester.