The market for books on botanical subjects is very strong, from volumes that reproduce antique drawings to books of contemporary botanical photography. Flowers in Shadow offers the best of both worlds in an innovative package. In the pages of this artful volume enclosed in a beautiful cloth case with a debossed image, photographer Zeva Oelbaum at once captures the beauty of a century-old botanical journal found in a tiny antiques shop in New England and interprets it anew through sumptuous duotone photography. By layering the original journal pages, using natural light to bring out the subtle textures of the pressed plants and paper, then photographing them, she has created a memorable collection of botanical images. Every photograph is a unique composition, featuring a different plant and displaying the notations of the young botanist who created the original journal. Each plant is accompanied by an informative description by Sara Stein as well. With an evocative foreword by Susan Orlean, an introduction by Stein on the nature of botany during the Victorian Era, and the author's preface that relates the history of the journal, Flowers in Shadow is an informative and stunning volume that will delight lovers of fine art photography, gardeners, and fans of botanical imagery and Victoriana. One of the most intriguing and handsome gift books in recent memory... stunning collection of photographs and commentary. -- Publisher's Weekly February 25, 2002 Zeva Oelbaum 's photographs have been widely published in periodicals such as The New York Times Magazine, Art & Antiques, House Beautiful, and Metropolitan Home. She has photographed more than a dozen illustrated books, among them Big Bowl Noodles and Rice, Sweet Celebrations, Perfect Vinaigrettes, and The Sutter Home Napa Valley Cookbook. She is the recipient of the Quill and Trowel Award from The Garden Writers Association of America and two awards from Communication Arts magazine and her work is in several corporate, museum, and private collections. She teaches at the International Center of Photography and is represented by the Bonni Benrubi Gallery in New York City. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey. Susan Orlean is the best-selling author of The Orchid Thief, The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup, and Saturday Night . She has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992. She lives in New York City. Sara Stein is the author of several successful and award-winning gardening books that have made her a respected voice in ecological gardening. Her book Noah's Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Back Yards , was listed as one of the "75 Most Influential Gardening Books of All Time" in American Gardener. She lives in Pound Ridge, New York. Botanical Journal