Vit­am­ins are always essen­tial, but espe­cially so dur­ing the winter months. That is why we are present­ing a selec­tion of vibrant cit­rus fruits from a truly remark­able source: the Pomo­lo­gic­al Water­col­or Col­lec­tion of the U.S. Depart­ment of Agri­cul­ture (USDA).

This col­lec­tion is a genu­ine treas­ure of nat­ur­al his­tory. Between 1886 and 1942, more than 7,500 water­col­ors were cre­ated to doc­u­ment the enorm­ous diversity of fruit and nut vari­et­ies. In an era when col­or pho­to­graphy was not yet pre­cise enough to cap­ture the subtle nuances of a fruit’s skin or its flesh, the USDA relied on the brushes of gif­ted illus­trat­ors.

Back then, these images served as sci­entif­ic ref­er­ences for garden­ers and breed­ers across the coun­try. Today, for us, they are primar­ily one thing: time­less mas­ter­pieces that evoke a crav­ing for fresh fruit.

Stay tuned for an upcom­ing art­icle about the back­ground of these won­der­ful water­col­ors — and spe­cific­ally the three women artists who cre­ated the vast major­ity of them.

And … stay healthy!

Yours, Ger­hard Groebe

Images: Pub­lic domain