Berthe Hoola van Nooten Fleurs, Fruits et Feuillages, choisis de l'île de Java
Bertha also taught drawing and as an amateur botanist she was interested in the local flora. This led to the beautifully illustrated botanical work Fleurs, Fruits et Feuillages, choisis de l'île de Java: peints d'après nature, published in Brussels in 1863, which she dedicated to Queen Sophie. Thanks to her donation of a thousand guilders, Bertha was able to have it published. In the foreword she admitted that she published her work to support her family, rather than to gain fame and renown. Bertha did the "drawing from nature" in the botanical garden in Buitenzorg, where a glass dome had been made for her. The work in large folio format contains about forty beautiful plates of fruits and plants from Java, with accompanying text in French and English. The first edition was published in ten issues, each with four hand-coloured lithographs based on her drawings. In the Netherlands the work was sold by the J. Noordendorp bookstore in Amsterdam. The price was seven guilders per episode.
The plants illustrated were:
Codiaeum variegatum Rumph. (Kaijoe Poering) Amherstia nobilis Wall. Citrus decumana L. (Djerook bezaar) Theobroma cacao L. (Tjoklaad) Tradescantia discolor Smith. (Gehwor meera) Elettaria speciosa Bl. (Honjeh lakka) Nephelium lappaceum L. (Ramboetan atjeh matjan) Lansium domesticum Jack. (Doekoe) Caladium bicolor Vent. (Tallas sabrang) Saraca declinata Miq. (Kisokka) Sterculia nobilis Smith. (Hantap) Otophora alata Bl. (Pisang tjina) Amarantus tricolor L. (Baijem meera) Spathiphyllopsis minahassae T. et B. (Tjariang poetie) Xanthochymus dulcis Roxb. (Moendoe) Garcinia mangostana L. (Mangies) Poinsettia pucherrima Grah. (Kajoe meera) Butea frondosa Roxb. (Plossoh) Anona squamosa L. (Serikaija) Anona reticulata L. (Boewa nonna) Pisonia sylvestris T. et B. var. Pisonia alba Spangh. (Widjojo koesoema en Kohl banda) Lagerstroemia regia Roxb. (Boengoer) Citrus sarcodactylis Hort. Bog. (Djerook tangan) Cynometra cauliflora L. (Namnam) Strophanthus dichotomus Dec. (Kikoeija) Artocarpus polyphema Pers. (Tjampedak) Anacardium occidentale L. (Jamboe monjet) Durio zibethinus L. (Durian) Flores jambosae domesticae Rumph. en Fructus jambosae domesticae Rumph. (Jamboe bol) – Maleise appel Mangifera indica L. (Manga wangie) Syzygium jambolanum Dec. (Djamblang) Musa coccinea Andr. (Pisang sole) Musa paradisiaca L. (Pisang maas) Theobroma cacao (var. alba) L. (Tjoklaad) Averrhoa bilimbi L. (Bliembing) Poinciana regia Boj. (Blamboijant) Zalacca edulis Reinw. (Salak) Anona muricata L. (Nanka wolanda) Carica papaya L. (Papaija)
Bertha is recognized as the botanical author of Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis (Hoola van Nooten) Swingle, a variety of the candied tree with fruits called the “hand of Buddha” (plate 23 in her book).
Succes
This work was received enthusiastically; famous botanists such as Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel praised it, and it became a commercial success. Governor-General Baron Sloet van de Beele supported Bertha with the considerable sum of two thousand guilders. A second edition quickly followed and a third edition appeared in 1881. The coloring pages were printed using the new chromolithography technique. However, Bertha would ultimately gain little financially from her work.
Son of Tsar Alexander II of Russia
In 1872, Bertha had a brief meeting with the Russian Grand Prince Alexis Alexandrovitch (1850-1908), son of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, who visited Batavia on his diplomatic trip around the world. She presented him a luxury copy of her Fleurs, Fruits, et Feuillages and the Russian prince thanked her with a beautiful bracelet. Bertha died, still in debt, on April 12, 1892 at her son-in-law's house in Tanah Abang. Her contents, including 14 copies of Fleurs, Fruits en Feuillages in luxury edition, and her real estate were sold by public auction.
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