Forgive me if I'm repeating information that was already posted... however, I wanted to tell/remind everyone about a very special item that is up for auction at the AIS (American Iris Society) convention in April. It's a 1913 edition of The Genus Iris: By William R. Dykes which was bequeathed to the ASI (Aril Society International) by Francesca Thoolen who passed away 1 year ago this month. Francesca was an absolute jewel for the ASI, providing tons of knowledge and material to be published over the years. It's not surprising that she would bequeath this jewel... this special book... to be auctioned off, with the proceeds benefiting the ASI. For full details please visit http://wiki.irises.org/bin/view/… If you can't attend the AIS convention, you can place bids electronically from now until April 19th. Who was Francesca? Francesca was an iris lover and hybridizer. Personally, I will always remember her fondness for the diminutive & charming aril-pums (hybrids between aril irises and Iris pumila). She was also a prolific contributor to the ASI website, yearbooks, and checklists. For years she was responsible for organizing and publishing the illustrated checklists. As the ASI webmaster I worked with her frequently. She contributed the bulk of the material in the library: http://www.arilsociety.org/index.pl?Checklist (Just take a look at the "Classic Works" records of personal correspondences that she contributed!) This is a rare opportunity to obtain a rare book, so please take a look & consider placing a bid! Thank you very much, Dennis in Cincinnati