Adopt-a-Book

An Initiative of the Friends of the University of Adelaide Library

The Tasmanian flora

Leonard Rodway (1853-1936)
Hobart: J. Vail, Govt. Printer, 1903

Rare Books & Special Collections
Rare Books Collection RB 581.9946 R69t

We thank our donor...

Conservation treatment of The Tasmanian flora was funded through the generosity of an anonymous donor in March 2015.

Synopsis

The thirteenth child of English dentist Henry Barron Rodway and Elizabeth Allin, Leonard Rodway began his career as a midshipman in the merchant service before following his father into dentistry. In 1878, he migrated to Queensland, where he married Louisa Phillips, a dentist’s daughter, before settling down in Tasmania. Here, he was appointed Honorary Dental Surgeon at Hobart General Hospital, a position he held for 32 years. However, it was his interest and contribution to the field of botany, for which Rodway would be chiefly remembered. He spent much of his time on field trips, collecting native Tasmanian plant specimens and describing new species. He presented numerous scientific papers to the Royal Society of Tasmania, to which he was elected in 1884 and by 1896 was appointed Honorary Government Botanist. He was a trustee of the Tasmanian Museum and from 1928, the director of the Botanical Gardens. He was also lecturer in Botany at the University of Tasmania from 1923 to 1929. Rodway’s contribution to the study, teaching and application of botany was enormous. The Tasmanian Flora, 1903, is a fine example of this, becoming a standard reference for more than forty years.

Original Condition

Quarter cloth with paper sidings. Significant lifting of paper from both front and rear boards with some sections missing altogether.  Prior blue tape repair to front and rear pastedowns. Sellotape repair to preface pages and major textblock split between pages 162-163. Original green cloth to spine lifting and fraying in multiple places and board corners severely bumped. Requires rebacking and resewing.

Restoration by Anthony Zammit

Original whip stitching removed and textblock resewn. Hollow lining created for new cloth spine and previous blue tape repairs to front and rear endpapers replaced with complementary green cloth. Sellotape and associated residue removed from preface page and parchment paper used to re-line all edges and corners of boards.