Robin -

I was an intern at Linley Sambourne House in London for awhile, where I had
my first encounter with wardian cases.  Though I may not have the precise
definition you are looking for, I can recommend a couple of places to visit
on the web which might clarify things for you.  The Victorians used wardian
cases as a way of having a miniature garden 'indoors', so to speak - those
cases at LSH were appended to the outer windows of the house so that plants
received enough sunlight and fed off of the resulting condensation on the
glass.

I recommend looking at the following links (and yes, I suppose I'm trying to
stir up a bit of interest in Linley Sambourne House as well - one of the
hidden gems of London!)

http://homearts.com/victoria/articles/18minif2.htm

http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/linleysambournehouse/  (you'll see the wardian cases
I'm referring to at the top of the main staircase and on the front lower
window)

Hope this is helpful to you!

Anne Mallek
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

 -----Original Message-----
From:   Robin Gabriel [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Wednesday, April 04, 2001 9:54 AM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        wardian cases

Can anyone give me a good descriptive definition of a wardian case and does
anyone have any idea about the derivation of the term?
Thanks,

Robin H. Gabriel
Director of Education
Monticello
P.O. Box 316
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
[log in to unmask]

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help"
(without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).