white pelican (plate 311)

blue winged teal (plate 313)

hairy woodpecker (plate 416)

white headed, or bald, eagle (vol. 4: plate 36)
(Audubon's plate of the white headed eagle  bears a close resemblance to Wilson's earlier illustration)

Perhaps now lesser known than The Birds of America, this work actually predates Audubon by some years. It was the first bird book with coloured plates to be published in America, and was the most comprehensive and accurate to date.

Alexander Wilson was born in Paisley in 1766 and emigrated to America in 1794 where he eventually became a schoolteacher. Already interested in birds, he read the ornithological works of Catesby and Edwards in the library of his neighbour, the naturalist William Bartram. Aware of their shortcomings, he resolved to supplement them. With Bartram's encouragement, he began to collect specimens and make detailed observations.

The first volume of American ornithology appeared in 1808. The engravings were made from Wilson's original drawings; a sample proof of each was then hand coloured by him as a model for the colourists of the other copies, and he closely supervised their work. The accompanying text is written in a clear, natural style, presenting Wilson's own experiences with the birds and their characteristics as he saw them.

Seven volumes had been published by 1813, and the eighth was in the press when Wilson, weakened through overwork in his anxiety to complete his undertaking, died after a bout of dysentery. The work was completed by his friend, George Ord.

American crossbill
(vol. 4: plate 44)

barred owl; rough legged falcon; short eared owl
(vol. 4: plate 33)

winter falcon
(vol. 4: plate 35)

opening of folios 27v-28r

opening of folios 30v-31r

vulture (plate 1)

goldfinches (plate 70)

bird of paradise (plate 9)

microscopes and instruments
(plate 1)

The Micrographia is the most famous work written by Robert Hooke (1635–1703), a brilliant scientist who made outstanding contributions to a number of scientific fields. Hooke was the curator of experiments at the then newly founded Royal Society, and the results of his observations in using a compound microscope and telescope are recorded in this groundbreaking text. The work begins with an investigation of inorganic matter and goes on to examine vegetable and animal bodies; included are descriptions of minute features such as 'the edge of a razor', various silks, 'the fiery sparks struck from a flint or steel', snow, urine, the leaves of herbs, flies and fleas. As well as being the foundation for the study of microscopy, in this work Hooke proved to be ahead of his time in a variety of areas. Most famously, he used the word 'cell' for the first time in describing the structure of cork; he also explained the diffraction of light independently of Grimaldi's discoveries, and was the first to describe, for example, a bee's sting, the compound eye of a fly, and the structure of feathers.

The book is renowned for its magnificent plates, mostly drawn with the greatest attention to detail by Hooke himself. It was an immediate bestseller.

plate 36

Maria Sibilla Merian (1647-1717) was the daughter of Matthäus Merian the Elder, a Swiss engraver of some note; her maternal grandfather was the Dutch botanical engraver Johann Theodor de Bry, and  she was taught to paint by her stepfather, Jacob Marrel, another artist who specialized in traditional Dutch flower compositions. A self taught naturalist, she was a pioneering entomologist and great botanical artist.

Although Maria may now be primarily known as a botanical artist, her chief interest actually lay in moths and butterflies and their metamorphoses: as plants provided their nourishment, she recorded both the insects and their hosts with equal care. She was particularly fascinated by tropical insects, but this - her first book - is confined to European species. Its engravings depict caterpillars feeding on plants in flower or fruit. This is a copy of the first part only, published in 1679 and containing fifty engraved plates; it lacks the accompanying descriptive text.

At the age of 52, Maria embarked on an extraordinary expedition to Surinam (Dutch Guiana) with her two daughters; they spent two years collecting and painting insects and the plants on which they lived, successfully recording the exotic colours of tropical flowers and insects at a time when they were almost entirely unknown to Europeans. The resulting publication, Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium (1705) brought Maria lasting fame.

beetles (plate 32)

Dru Drury (1725–1804) was a silversmith with a passion for entomology. His profitable business enabled him to spend significant amounts of money on his hobby and over a thirty year period he built up a famous collection of over 11,000 insect specimens. As well as collecting English insects, he acquired more "exotic" samples by persuading the officers of ships sailing to other continents and other travellers to collect insects on his behalf; for this they were paid 6d per insect 'whatever the size'.

Illustrations of natural history was published in three parts between 1770 and 1782. The illustrations were based on specimens in his collection. The hand-coloured copperplate engravings were beautifully executed by Moses Harris; he was responsible for illustrating several books of natural history by various authors, as well as his own works. Drury assures the reader in the preface that 'the utmost care and nicety has been observed, both in the outlines, and engraving. Nothing is strained, or carried beyond the bounds nature has set'.

bees
(table 38)

One of the outstanding authors of entomological literature of the Eighteenth Century, Moses Harris (1730–c.1788) was interested in insect study from an early age. In this he was encouraged by his uncle who was a member of the first organised society of entomologists in England, the Society of the Aurelians. Harris wrote several works on insect life and, as an accomplished artist, was responsible for drawing, engraving, and colouring all his own work, maintaining at all times a high standard of accuracy.

An exposition of English insects is considered by many to be Harris's major scientific work. It incorporates an earlier treatise in which Harris established a classification based on wing venation. In the introductory preface to the work, Harris explains that although he has kept close to the outline of the Linnaean system of classification, he hopes that in his system the observer 'at first sight of an insect ... shall be capable of not only knowing the class it refers to, but at the same time to what order and section of that class, and this by the wings only'. The main text is preceded by a colour wheel to aid the reader in judging the 'variety of teints that adorn the several parts of insects'. This is a copy of the first issue of the second edition of this work. It contains some fifty hand-coloured engravings by Harris.

terrapene clausa (part 3, plate 2)

A pioneering dental surgeon by profession, Thomas Bell was also an eminent zoologist who was an expert on crustaceans. He became Professor of Zoology at King's College in London in 1835 and was a founder member of the Zoological Society of London. His Monograph of the Testudinata is said to the first comprehensive account of tortoises. Bell aimed to describe all known species for the first time, including newly discovered varieties.

The work was published by subscription between 1832 and 1836; eight parts were produced, each containing five plates. Although highly acclaimed, its publisher ran into financial difficulties and production of the parts ceased before the work was completed. The unsold parts and unpublished plates were bought by the publisher, Henry Sotheran, and the work was eventually published completely in 1872 as Tortoises, Terrapins and Turtles. This later book contains twenty more plates than the original monograph, ordered slightly differently.

The magnificent plates form the best collection of illustrations of tortoises, terrapins and turtles ever produced. Since many were drawn from living specimens, they are lifelike in both pose and colour. James de Carle Sowerby (1787–1871) made the drawings; from a formidable family of nineteenth century naturalists, Sowerby had helped to found the Royal Botanic Gardens but he is probably now better known for his many book illustrations. Edward Lear, now remembered for his nonsense verse, was responsible for producing the lithographs; the most accomplished lithographer of the time, he is credited with imbuing the tortoises and turtles depicted with their charming character and individuality.

jellyfish: chrysaora cyclonota (frontispiece)

Perhaps better known today as the severe and deeply religious father of Edmund Gosse's memoir Father and Son, Philip Henry Gosse (1810–1888) was a popular Victorian author on zoology and natural history.

Interested in natural history as a child, in his early career Gosse held a variety of posts in Newfoundland, Canada, the USA and Jamaica: at all times, he took a great interest in his environment and endeavoured to professionalize his hobby by publishing work on his observations. Having married and settled in London, his prodigious output of writing resulted in a breakdown from overwork and he was advised to go and live in the country. He moved to Devon in 1853. He wrote A naturalist's rambles on the Devonshire coast the following year in Ilfracombe. The book includes twelve coloured plates, drawn and lithographed by Gosse and printed by Hullmandel and Walton. Highly artistic, Gosse was a keen and accurate observer; his paintings of British marine life have rarely been equalled. The book successfully popularised the science of marine biology, Gosse's enthusiasm for studying in the field shining through the text. It is unfortunate that his reputation as a serious scientist later suffered with the publication of Omphalos: in this text of 1857, Gosse refuted developmental theory, aiming to reconcile geology with the Bible's account of creation by arguing that the earth had been created with fossils to give a false appearance of age, just as Adam had been created with a navel.

detail of title from spine

Published in 1859, this is a first edition of Charles Darwin's famous treatise on evolution and natural selection. It has been described as the most influential work of the Nineteenth Century. The book was a culmination of over twenty years of experiments and study, and was originally published as an abstract to Darwin's final results, which he did not believe would be ready before 1861. The work was purposely written in a non-scientific way, so as to make the findings as widely available as possible; it is easily understood by those with little or no technical knowledge of the theories of evolution. It was highly controversial at its time of publication as it contradicted the commonly held religious beliefs that all species were created distinctly from each other and by a greater power than man. Darwin himself openly acknowledges in his introduction that he himself used to entertain such views, until his research began to create other possibilities behind the origin of species; instead he states that he is now 'fully convinced that species are not immutable; but that those belonging to what are called the same genera are lineal descendants of some other and generally extinct species, in the same manner as the acknowledged varieties of any one species are the descendants of that species.'

frontispiece portrait of the author, Fuchs

Leonhart Fuchs' De historia stirpium commentarii insignes (or, Notable commentaries on the history of plants) was first published in 1542. A massive folio volume, this landmark work describes in Latin some 497 plants, and is illustrated by over 500 superb woodcuts based upon first-hand observation. One of the German fathers of Botany, Fuchs' aim was to reproduce each plant from life. Primarily a physician rather than a botanist, he emphasised the pharmacological aspects of plants, although their characteristics, habits, habitats and forms are also outlined. Arranged alphabetically by Greek nomenclature, no attempt was made at a natural system of classification: although the descriptions help to distinguish one species from another, Fuchs relied on the illustrations to be used as the main means for identifying the plants. Over 100 species are illustrated for the first time, many of the specimens probably coming from Fuchs' garden in Tübingen; over a thirty-five year period, he grew many of the plants featured in the work, including the exotics.

Our copy of this great herbal belonged to the politician and statesman Thomas Belasyse, Lord Fauconberg (1627-1700). At some early point in its history, someone - possibly Belasyse himself - has obviously read through the book with care; apparently a keen botanist, pressed between some of the pages are the remnants of small samples of the plants described. This owner evidently also had access to a copy of Gerard's famous English herbal: his manuscript annotations reveal careful cross references to the entries in both, often citing Gerard's English names.

For more images and background information on this book, see the Special Collections October 2002 book of the month article.

title-page

The introduction of engraving as a technique for book illustration coincided with the proliferation of new plant arrivals in Europe from Turkey and the New World. A spate of ‘florilegia’ ensued; usually depicting the plants in an individual’s garden, there was also much copying of other artists’ work. That commissioned by Rudolf II of Austria of Emanuel Sweerts (1552-1612), a Dutch merchant and natural history dealer, was among the earliest. It was completed in 1609 and originally published in 1612; the copy here is one of many reissues. Engraving permitted more accurate detail than woodcut, with hatching, stippling and white gaps to give a three-dimensional effect and simulate reflexion from shiny leaves. Sweerts and Johann Theodor de Bry were the first to establish the convention of portraying lower stem with bulb or root alongside severed upper stem and flower in order to reproduce the plant life-size on the page.

This copy is an interesting example of a book that has been incompletely coloured by its original owner.

title-page

Known as the 'father of English natural history', John Ray paved the way for Linnaeus in describing the structure and function of plants. Making the idea of the species his starting point, he maintained that all the characteristics of a plant should be taken into consideration when attempting to classify them.

Ray's love of botany was probably inspired by his mother who was known for her knowledge of medicinal herbs. He held a number of posts at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he kept a small garden: here he planted specimens that he had collected or which his friends had sent to him, and investigated the differences between specific varieties of plants and trees. Aware of the limitations of existing literature and expertise on the subject, he decided in the early 1650s to work on a catalogue of plant life that he had found in and around Cambridge; this work was published in 1660. Ray went on to explore the rest of Britain and Europe, often accompanied by his friend, the naturalist Francis Willughby. Together, they agreed to research the complete natural history of living things.

This is the second edition of Ray's catalogue of English plants, originally published in 1670 and dedicated to Willughby. It is meticulously thorough and noted for the medical and pharmacological notes which are included in the plant descriptions, highlighting Ray's belief that God created the plants for a purpose.

allegorical frontispiece

This work, along with the author's Genera plantarum and Species plantarum, forms the starting point of modern systematic botany. Linnaeus established the principles of class, order, genus and species for all plants and animals. His botanical system was based mainly on flower parts, which tend to remain unchanged during the course of evolution. Linnaeus devised a method of twenty-four classes dependent on the number, union and relative length of the stamens: the classes were then subdivided into orders according to the number of styles. It was the simplest system yet devised and although artificial - as Linnaeus himself recognised - it had the great merit of enabling students to place a plant in a named category quickly and easily - and that at a period when the richness of the world's vegetation was being discovered at a rate that outstripped more leisurely methods of investigation. So successful was this method in practice that its facile application was the greatest obstacle to its replacement by the more natural systems that eventually superseded it.

Hortus Cliffortianus is a catalogue of the magnificent garden at Hartekamp in Holland belonging to the Anglo-Dutch banker, George Clifford. Linnaeus lived there for two years and wrote the text in nine months. The plates are engraved from drawings by the great German flower artist, Georg Ehret (1708-1770). Soon after its publication, Linnaeus returned to Sweden and in 1741 was appointed to the Chair of Medicine at Uppsala, exchanging this post a year later for the Chair of Botany.

Flesh-coloured Justicia (plate 3383)

One of the greatest scientific periodicals of all time, Curtis's Botanical Magazine was first issued in 1787 and is still being published to this day. It is the oldest periodical in existence featuring coloured plates, of which more than 11,000 have now been produced. The work of many acclaimed botanical artists, its volumes provide an exceptional pictorial record of floral fashions and plant introductions in Great Britain over the past two centuries. The journal was founded by William Curtis (1746-1799). Designed to portray ornamental and foreign plants, its first issue consisted of three hand coloured plates accompanied by brief letterpress descriptions; the plates were drawn 'always from the living plant, and coloured as near to nature, as the imperfection of colouring will admit'. It was an immediate success. Many renowned botanists and artists have been involved in the journal's subsequent production. In 1826, William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865) took over the editorship. Hooker was Professor of Botany at Glasgow University (1820-1841) until becoming Director of Kew in 1841. A botanist of great ability, he was also a skilled draughtsman: the plate for Justica Carnea shown here is based on one of his drawings. The specimen from which the drawing was taken came from the botanical gardens in Glasgow.

Production of the magazine was plagued by economic difficulties throughout the nineteenth century thanks to the expense of the plates. In 1921 the magazine was saved from extinction when H. J. Elwes bought the copyright and presented it to the Royal Horticultural Society which agreed to continue publication. Incredibly, the plates were all hand coloured until as late as 1948 when a shortage of colourists forced the periodical to adopt photographic reproduction.

For more images and background information on this book, see the Special Collections October 2004 book of the month article.

agaricus giganteus (plate 244)

James Sowerby (1757-1822) was an engraver and botanical artist who trained at the Royal Academy. His skilful work illustrates several natural history books of the period; he worked, for example, on William Curtis's Flora Londinensis, and drew the first plate for Curtis's Botanical Magazine (the Persian Iris, shown above). He ceased working for Curtis in 1790 upon beginning a collaboration with James Edward Smith to produce a complementary serial publication, English Botany. This was the first comprehensive account of the indigenous flora of Britain, published in 36 volumes between 1790 and 1814. It did not, however, describe British fungi and so Sowerby produced Coloured figures of English fungi to accompany it. Sowerby made 440 drawings and many models of fungi for this survey; the models were made expressly to aid identification of the edible and poisonous species, and some are still preserved to this day in the Natural History Museum. Sowerby also wrote the explanatory text. In the preface to the work, he enthusiastically encourages the more active cultivation of mushrooms and fungi, emphasising their usefulness in cooking and dyeing, as well as their ornamental properties.

tulips (plate 25)

The Temple of Flora, the third and final part of Robert Thornton's New illustration of the sexual system of Carolus von Linnaeus, is probably the most sumptuous and renowned of all great flower books. It contains 31 plates, produced by a variety of techniques; the impressions were printed in colour and afterwards finished by hand. No two copies are quite the same. This original elephant folio edition was originally issued to subscribers between 1799 and 1807 in parts that could later be bound together.

Robert Thornton (1768?-1837) studied medicine at Cambridge. Having developed a passion for natural history from an early age, he decided to spend his considerable inheritance in producing a splendid volume illustrating the Linnean system of classification. He employed the best artists to realize this vision, insisting that they should set their plants not against conventional plain backgrounds, nor against formal landscapes, but in the full splendour of their natural habitat. Thornton originally hoped that seventy coloured plates would illustrate the text, but subscription (at a time of great economic uncertainty) was disappointing. Ultimately, the expenses in producing the plates proved crippling. In order to stave off bankruptcy, in 1811 Thornton held a public lottery, offering as first prize the original paintings for the plates. Despite an extensive advertising campaign, the lottery failed to sell sufficient tickets and Thornton faced ruin. When he died in 1837, his family was almost destitute.

For more images and background information on this book, see the Special Collections book of the month article for April 2000.

botanical illustrators at work (from Fuch's Great Herbal)