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Archiving Old Seed Catalogues

_{Lyne Bellemare}

Over the last century, almost 75% of vegetable varieties have disappeared in Canada. They are no longer sold as seeds or used by farmers, having been replaced over the years by varieties that better meet the criteria of modern agricultural production, such as disease resistance and aesthetics. Despite this, however, they have left their mark in age-old archival documents: old seed catalogues.

These lists of seeds began to enter North America as early as the eighteenth century. Seed companies offered several varieties, some from the Old Continent, but many from First Nations and their trade with European settlers settled in the New World.

A few months ago, the Archive Library (via the Internet Archives site) digitized and published an impressive number of these old seed catalogues. Potager d'Antan, a project that researches and documents Quebec’s agricultural and food heritage, first mentioned the presence of this collection online, so that you and I can in turn carry out our own research of old varieties on this tool.

Under the name "Biodiversity Heritage Library Seed & Nursery Catalogs", the archive holds over 1000 documents, published between 1850 and 1950, mostly in English. The collection includes some very rare and fascinating catalogues from Europe and North America, and is worth spending some time perusing.

A quick reminder: We have a small seed catalogue archive of our own on the Seeds of Diversity website, where you can look through 37 old Canadian catalogues, dating from as far back as 1846 and extending until 1949.

As witnesses of a given period, seed catalogues give us a portrait of the gardens and the cultures of the past. Dusting off these archives helps us find clues about seeds believed to have disappeared or even some whose very existence has been doubted. They are indispensable resources for those who wish to revive the seeds of yesteryear.

Needless to add, of course, these catalogues facilitate the dissemination of knowledge related to old varieties, but they do not save the varieties themselves. Safeguarding Canada's agricultural and food heritage requires the knowledge and passion of a handful of hard-working seedsavers like you!

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Lyne Bellemare is the french programs coordinator at Seeds of Diversity.

You can explore the collection of old seed catalogues on the Internet archive here.

Photo: William Ewing Company, Seed catalogue 1908, Montreal Canada. Taken from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

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