Gardens for a Beautiful America, 1895- 1935, written by Sam Watters and published in collaboration with the Library of Congress, presents for the first time 250 colored photographs of urban and suburban gardens taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston- photographer of presidents, celebrity authors, tastemakers, and estates of the County House Era. At the opening of the 20th century, as artist and progressive, Johnston was front and center in the movement to beautify America. Gilded Age industrialism had brought at new prosperity to life coast to coast, but at the price of once pristine forests, rivers, and blue skies, wrecked by continental railroad building and factory pollution in growing cities. As guardians of home and community, wealthy women rallied clubs and societies to green America through design and horticulture. To show all gardeners, rich and poor, what a garden should be, they turned to Frances Benjamin Johnston.Johnston s colored lantern slides have not been seen since the...