Oluna Ceska and Adolf Ceska Collection

Golden and Ruby salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) illustration

The Oluna Ceska and Adolf Ceska Collection is comprised of botanical illustrations and scientific illustrations by Oldriska (Oluna) Ceska (1938-2022). The drawings, which Ceska created in both black and white and colour, largely highlight flora from southern Vancouver Island. Seeking scientific accuracy, Ceska included details such as berries, flowers, leaves, rhizomes, roots, and other features necessary for identification. Ceska’s illustrations are featured in several publications, including Nancy J. Turner and Adam F. Szczawinski's "Wild Coffee and Tea Substitutes of Canada" (Ottawa: National Museum of Natural Sciences, National Museums of Canada, 1978) and "Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada" (Ottawa: National Museum of Natural Sciences, National Museums of Canada, 1979), as well as Illustrated Flora of British Columbia (1998-2002).

The illustrations in this collection are from both the Oluna Ceska and Adolf Ceska Fonds at the University of Victoria Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives and the Government of British Columbia, who commissioned illustrations for Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, a publication issued in eight volumes between 1998 and 2002 and edited by G.W. Douglas, G.B. Straley, D.V. Meidinger, and J. Pojar. The volumes describe and illustrate the flowering plants and vascular non-flowering plants, both native and naturalized within the borders of British Columbia.

Oluna Ceska was a scientist and artist who emigrated from Prague (Czech Republic) to Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) in 1969.  Ceska worked as a lab assistant and research associate at the University of Victoria Department of Biology. Ceska was a founding member of the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society (SVIMS).