The Martha W. Griffiths Michigan Rare Book Room's current display is designed around several volumes of Romeyn B. Hough'sThe American Woods : Exhibited by Actual Specimens... (Lowville, N.Y., 1892-1928). Comprised of wafer thin slices of 350 species of North American trees these woods were gathered by Hough throughout his lifetime. Using text and specimens created by her father, the 14th (and last) volume was published by Marjorie Hough four years after his death in 1924. Arranged by geographic region, Parts I-IV cover New York and adjacent states, part V covers Florida, parts VI-X the Pacific Slope, parts XI-XII cover the Atlantic states, and part XIII southern Florida.

The volumes are accompanied by hand or machine carved works of mostly American woods by Janice Murphy, a Library of Michigan reference librarian, Patrick Lawrence, a resident of the Lansing area and Eric Fulton of Hadley, Mich.

Hours: Monday and Thursday 1-4 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Library of Michigan
Department of History, Arts and Libraries