These are JPEGs and scans from photographs I took back 15-25 years ago.

1. Ben Davis

100+ years ago Ben Davis was the most popular apple variety in the United States. It was nicknamed "the mortgage lifter" because it produced so reliably and prolifically. It was rugged and durable so it shipped and stored well. Missouri at one time was an important apple producing region and Ben Davis was the leading variety there. The flavor is unremarkable. Its origin is unknown but it is thought to go back to circa 1800.

2. Belle de Boskoop

Belle de Boskoop was discovered as a chance seedling in Boskoop, Netherlands, in 1856. Tart and firm and very fragrant, it holds up well in cooking. It is a classic winter apple that improves and sweetens in storage.

3. Flower of Kent

Sir Isaac Newton was sitting under a Flower of Kent tree on his parents' estate when he saw an apple falling to the ground, leading him to question the nature of gravitation. That was in the late summer of 1666, and the variety was known as far back as the 1400s in Kent where it is presumed to have originated.

Apollo 10 astronauts John Young, Thomas Stafford and Gene Cernan carried seeds from Flower of Kent into space as a tribute to Newton. In 2010 British-born NASA astronaut Piers Sellers took a piece of wood from a Flower of Kent tree to the International Space Station. In 2015, British astronaut Tim Peake took Flower of Kent seeds into space. I was personally involved in arranging for a Flower of Kent seedling to be sent to the University on Copenhagen from the Royal Botanical Gardens for a display honoring Newton.

4. Spitzenburg

Spitzenburg, also called Esopus Spitzenburg, originated as a chance seedling early in the 18th century near Esopus, Hudson, New York. Thomas Jefferson was a dedicated horticulturalist and he grew many apple varieties at Monticello. Spitzenburg was reportedly his favorite. It is a great fresh eating apple, but it is so difficult to grow that it is rare. It is a parent to the variety Jonathan.

These are JPEGs and scans from photographs I took back 15-25 years ago.

1. Ben Davis

100+ years ago Ben Davis was the most popular apple variety in the United States. It was nicknamed "the mortgage lifter" because it produced so reliably and prolifically. It was rugged and durable so it shipped and stored well. Missouri at one time was an important apple producing region and Ben Davis was the leading variety there. The flavor is unremarkable. Its origin is unknown but it is thought to go back to circa 1800.

Nice shots. Also like the history. If you ever have the chance to find one try a banana apple. My grandfather had two trees on his farm in the southwestern part of Pittsfield, MA some hundred to about fifty years ago.
Bud

2. Belle de Boskoop

Belle de Boskoop was discovered as a chance seedling in Boskoop, Netherlands, in 1856. Tart and firm and very fragrant, it holds up well in cooking. It is a classic winter apple that improves and sweetens in storage.

3. Flower of Kent

Sir Isaac Newton was sitting under a Flower of Kent tree on his parents' estate when he saw an apple falling to the ground, leading him to question the nature of gravitation. That was in the late summer of 1666, and the variety was known as far back as the 1400s in Kent where it is presumed to have originated.

Apollo 10 astronauts John Young, Thomas Stafford and Gene Cernan carried seeds from Flower of Kent into space as a tribute to Newton. In 2010 British-born NASA astronaut Piers Sellers took a piece of wood from a Flower of Kent tree to the International Space Station. In 2015, British astronaut Tim Peake took Flower of Kent seeds into space. I was personally involved in arranging for a Flower of Kent seedling to be sent to the University on Copenhagen from the Royal Botanical Gardens for a display honoring Newton.

4. Spitzenburg

Spitzenburg, also called Esopus Spitzenburg, originated as a chance seedling early in the 18th century near Esopus, Hudson, New York. Thomas Jefferson was a dedicated horticulturalist and he grew many apple varieties at Monticello. Spitzenburg was reportedly his favorite. It is a great fresh eating apple, but it is so difficult to grow that it is rare. It is a parent to the variety Jonathan.