Re: VMS Botany -- Colors

["Dana F. Scott" <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Robert,
   Perhaps Philip Marshall will be willing to include your request as an
item on our wish list, if he manages to get a peek at the VMS. Philip is
at Yale and has expressed an interest in viewing the document at the
Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library. I currently live in
California. Others who have been fortunate enough to examine the VMS may
also be able to help with the colors. I believe there is some
documentation on this area of interest.

Regards,
Dana

"Robert G. Comegys" wrote:

> Hi Dana,
>
> Great! I am especially interested in the colors of the cosmology section, the
> nine mandalas. The colors might give a clue as to any possible cardinal
> direction to the mandalas. If my memory serves the east is red (just like
> Chairman Mao said), west is black, south is white or yellow and north is blue.
> Or something like that. If you can get the colors I'll  look up the
> significance. Best regards, John Comegys
>
> "Dana F. Scott" wrote:
>
> > Hello Philip,
> >      Thank you for your comments. If you do manage to view the VMS then you
> > will have a unique opportunity to see the drawings in color. Black and white
> > copies do limit our skills of observation. I am thankful for the samples in
> > color that are available on the Internet but I feel that we are somewhat
> > restricted without full color copies of the VMS.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Dana Scott
> >
> > pm232@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> >
> > > I'm not familiar with f25r, but my undergraduate training was in botany
> > > and I must point out that Triadenum virginicum (formerly Hypericum
> > > virginicum and commonly called "marsh St. John's wort") is native to
> > > eastern North America only. The plant on f25r may very well be Triadenum
> > > virginicum, but if it were it would carry all the implications of Hugh
> > > O'Neill's sunflower and Capsicum ids. Triadenum virginicum is indeed
> > > considered medicinal -- it is one of the "St. John's worts" sold as
> > > antidepressants. I'm currently a grad student at Yale, living three
> > > blocks away from Beinecke, and I hope to get a look at the VMS "in
> > > person" in the next week or two. I'll report back on what it looks like
> > > to me.
> > >
> > > -Philip Marshall
> > >
> > > ---------Included Message----------
> > > >Date: Sat, 03 Feb 2001 19:11:24 -0800
> > > >From: "Dana F. Scott" <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > >Reply-To: "Dana F. Scott" <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > >To: <voynich@xxxxxxxx>, <AFScott@xxxxxxx>
> > > >Subject: VMS Botany
> > > >
> > > >Without having direct knowledge of which plants were used for the
> > > >botanical drawings in VMS it is certainly a very challenging task to
> > > >make accurate identifications when compared to today's available
> > > >specimens; however, there is value, I think, in making at least a best
> > > >guess comparison or finding a close approximation. What makes this
> > > >particular folio very difficult to identify is that I imagine that
> > > there
> > > >are probably numerous other examples of plants that look quite a bit
> > > >like this drawing. While you may not all have access to f25r in the
> > > VMS,
> > > >here is a picture of the plant called TRIADENUM VIRGINICUM which
> > > appears
> > > >to be a very close match to f25r. Unfortunately, the base and roots of
> > > >the plant cannot be seen in this picture, but I am impressed by the
> > > fact
> > > >that  the leaves even seem to be oriented as drawn in the VMS.
> > > >
> > > >http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/dcs420/a/hdw23109902s.jpg
> > > >
> > > >Regards,
> > > >Dana Scott
> > > >
> > > ---------End of Included Message----------

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