Pennsylvania Horticultural Society - Philadelphia Flower Show

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, February 24, 1935: "One of the most unusual exhibits of the Flower Show which will be held in the Commercial Museum March 25-30, will be the "Gardener's Open Book" an exhibit of the women of the Southeastern District Garden Division of the State Federation of Pennsylvania Women. The book will feature the various activities of members of the Garden Division of the clubs throughout the medium of huge books. The pages of the books will be six feet by four, and will be opened so that all who pass may read."

One of the several sculptures in the 1935 central feature was this charming work, Fountain Figures Riding on a Fish by Louis Milione. Born in Padua, Italy, Louis Milione studied sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and exhibited regularly there. In addition to teaching at Philadelphia's School of Industrial Art (now the University of the Arts) he did several architectural sculpture commissions in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Look for his work on the west pediment of the Philadelphia Family Court building on Logan Circle in Philadelphia.

Conveniently sized for pocket or purse, The PRT Traveler was a biweekly news leaflet produced by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (a predecessor of today’s mass transit system, SEPTA) and placed in transit vehicles and stations throughout the city. The 1935 PRT Traveler included tips on getting to the Flower Show. Visitors had a choice of taking the Market-Frankford “EL,” one of several bus and trolley routes, or a “Yellow or Quaker Cab (in which five can ride as cheaply as one).” Getting visitors to the show was and continues to be a priority for SEPTA.

Close up view of 1936 Central Feature tulip bed with garden sculpture, a boy riding a dolphin.

This 1936 exhibit featured sculptor Ossip Zadkine’s “Pomone” set in a garden terrace. To the right, placed on top of the garden wall is a bust of a head, presumably also by Zadkine. A Russian artist who spent most of his life in Paris, Zadkine was best known for his cubist-inspired sculptures. He was awarded the grand prize for sculpture at the 1950 Venice Biennale, and many of his works may be seen today at the Ossip Zadkine Museum in Paris.

1936 Flower Show exhibit with garden sculpture, a sundial resting on the head of a kneeling winged male figure.

In the 1930s, the Philadelphia Art Alliance organized sculpture shows at the Philadelphia Flower Show. In 1936, "Alba," a 64-inch-tall bronze work by Lawrence Tenney Stevens, was staged in the Widener Acacia collection. Stevens is best known for his work in the American West, including architectural sculpture at the Centennial Fair Grounds for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas.

The Weeders garden club captured first prize in the 1936 garden class. This simple and charming entry with a small pool, a tall pine tree, and potted primulas was complemented by a stone figure, Kaan Yin, a Buddhist goddess of compassion and kindness.

This 1939 exhibit was executed by Alfred M. Campbell, one of the founders of Philadelphia Flower Show, Inc. He used one plant only, hydrangeas, in several varieties including his new brilliant pink introduction, "Strafford," as well as a mix of others such as Madam Mouilliere, Europa, Deutschland, and Merveille, all popular varieties of the day. Show visitors eagerly awaited the Campbell hydrangea displays each year.

“The World of Tomorrow” is this year’s theme, and a nod to the New York World’s Fair. Show layout designed by Walter V. D. Hengel. Central Feature is a huge modernistic garden with a central fountain of four tiers, white pylons with chartreuse tops, and sculpture throughout the exhibit. Walter Hengel (also known as Van Den Hengel) was a retail florist, a designer of the Philadelphia Flower Show, and one of the “incorporators” of the Philadelphia Flower Show, Inc. He died in 1941 at age 63. Born in Amsterdam, Hengel was, according to his obituary in the New York Times (August 9, 1941) the designer of the Glendinning rock garden on East River Drive in Fairmount Park, an artist as well as a floral architect, and was a member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Art Alliance of Philadelphia. Letter "B" inscribed in lower left corner of photograph.