I had the rare opportunity to study the magnificent Fora Graeca, with nearly 1000 hand-colored engravings of flora from two expeditions made by botanist John Sibthorp and botanical artist Ferdinand Bauer to the Ottoman Empire: Greece and Turky during the last quarter of eighteenth century. Only 25 copies were published from 1806 -1840, making it one of the rarest botanical books ever compiled and the most expensive; it became an almost mythical book. I had access to all 10 volumes as a reader at the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies, Athens, Greece in preparation for an exhibition in the Markriyannis exhibition space of the school with my artist collective AFI (Jan 13- March 29, 2026). I am fascinated by the imprint of time in the oil stains on the facing pages to the engravings and am working on a series of lithographs: Ghosts of Flora Graeca.