Painting of insects by Bresillac based on the work of August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof from the album ‘Collection de fleurs, d’oiseaux d’insectes.’ Drawn and colored by various students of the Royal School of Sorèze. Manuscript, 1783-1789. Harvard Houghton Library. #naturalhistory #insects

Irises from the expanded edition of ‘Florilegium renovatum et auctum’ by Johann Theodor de Bry. Published in Frankfurt by Matthaeus Merian the elder, 1641. I saw this at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation. #naturalhistory #irises #iris #BotanicalArt

'The Book of Exotic Birds: A Series of Richly Colored Plates, Accompanied by Descriptions. London: Paul Jerrard, 1852. The book was bound in what Paul Jerrard called "patent porcelain binding." The lettering is mother-of-pearl inlay. UW-Madison Special Collections. #bookhistory #bookbinding

‘The Book of Exotic Birds: A Series of Richly Colored Plates, Accompanied by Descriptions.’ London: Paul Jerrard, 111 Fleet Street, 1852. UW-Madison Special Collections. #naturalhistory #birdart #chromolithograph

Crustaceans from Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst’s ‘Versuch Einer Naturgeschichte der Krabben und Krebse Nebst Eiener Systematischen Beschreibung Ihrer Verschiedenen Arten.’ Zürich: Berlin: J.C. Fuessley; G.A. Lange, 1782. University of Chicago Special Collections. #naturalhistory #animalart

An album of over 200 pressed seaweeds arranged by an anonymous Victorian collector. A transcribed poem is pasted as title page, it begins: “Oh call us not weeds, we are flowers of the sea.” UW-Madison Special Collections. #naturalhistory #seaweed #pressedseaweed #seaweedalbum #herbarium

On Monday June 22, 2026 I had the honor of speaking at the Wood Engravers Network conference in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. My presentation “A Survey of Natural History Wood Engravings” traced the deep connection between wood engraving and the natural world. #naturalhistory #historyofscience

Ulysses butterfly (Papilio ulysses) from ‘An Epitome of the Natural History of the Insects of India, and the Islands in the Indian Seas’ by Edward Donovan. London: Printed for the author by T. Bensley, 1800. Harvard’s Houghton Library. #naturalhistory #insectart

Hedgehog from 'Angenehmer und nützlicher Zeit-vertreib mit Betrachtung curioser Vorstellungen allerhand kriechender, fliegender und schwimmender, auf dem Land und im Wasser' by Johann Daniel Meyer. Nürnberg: gedruckt bey J.J. Fleischmann, 1748-56. University of Chicago Special Collections.

Sea urchin tests (shells) from ‘Deliciae naturae selectae: oder, Auserlesenes naturalien-cabinet, welches aus den drey reichen der natur zeight, was von curiösen liebhabern aufbehalten und gesammelt zu werden verdienet’ by Georg Wolfgang Knorr. Published in Nuremberg, 1766-67. Library of Congress.

Primula auricula from ‘Ten Lithographic Coloured Flowers with Botanical Descriptions’ drawn and coloured by a lady. Printed from the stone by R. H. Nimmo. Published in Edinburgh by David Brown, 1826. University of Wisconsin-Madison Special Collections. #hernaturalhistory #botanicalart

Jan van Kessel the Elder’s “entomological authorgraph” from 1658. The artist’s name is depicted with insects and reptiles. I saw this last year at the exhibition Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. #naturalhistory #insectart #sciart

Chromolithograph of Sri Lanka from ‘Pflanzenleben’ by Anton Kerner Von Marilaun, 1913. Artist is Ernst Friedrich Heyn. #chromolithograph #naturalhistory #Pflanzenleben #ErnstFriedrichHeyn

Anatomy of frog from ‘L’ecrevisse (anatomie et dissection): planches coloriées à feuillets découpés et superposés’ by Jules Philippe Louis Anglas, 1916. UW-Madison’s Special Collections. #foldoutanatomy #animalanatomy #naturalhistory #scientificart #sciart #rarebooks

Berries 🍓 from ‘Meyers Konversations-Lexikon.’ Leipzig: Bibliographisches institut, 1896. #naturalhistory #scientificillustration #chromolithography

Fish illustrations from Charles d’Orbigny’s ‘Dictionnaire Universel d’Histoire Naturelle’ published in Paris, 1847-1849. American Geographical Society Library. #naturalhistory #scientificillustration #fishart

American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) from John James Audubon’s “The Birds of America; from Original Drawings,” published 1827-1830. Engraved, printed, and colored by Robert Havell. #JohnJamesAudubon #BirdsofAmerica #rarebooks #scientificillustration #Americancrow

Albrecht Dürer was born on 21 May 1471 in Nuremberg. To celebrate the anniversary of his birth, here is his wonderful Stag Beetle from 1505. I saw it in person at the Getty Museum while taking a California Rare Book School class in 2019. #AlbrechtDürer #naturalhistory #stagbeetle #insectart

Lilac and yellow pitcher plant from ‘The New Botanic Garden’ by Sydenham Edwards, London, J. Stockdale, 1812. University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Special Collections. #scientificillustration #naturalhistory #botanicalart

Chameleon from from ‘Musei Leveriani explicatio, anglica et latina’ by George Shaw. London, Impensis Jacobi Parkinson, 1792-1796. Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. #Chameleon #naturalhistory #sciart #animalart

Dormouse and nest. Wood engraving from ‘Homes without hands: being a description of the habitations of animals, classed according to their principle of construction’ by John George Wood. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1874. #woodengraving #naturalhistory #animalart

Bats from ‘Johnson's Household Book of Nature, Containing Full and Interesting Descriptions of the Animal Kingdom,’ edited by Hugh Craig. New York, 1880. #naturalhistory #chromolithography #bats #animalart

Insects from ‘Bilder zum Anschauungs-Unterricht für die Jugend: Bestehend in vaterländ. Gegenständen, nach der Natur u. den besten Originalen.’ Esslingen: J .F. Schreiber’s lithographischer Anstalt, 1835. University of Wisconsin-Madison Special Collections. #naturalhistory #sciart

Original botanical painting of foxglove and fern from an album of watercolour studies of "Flowers from Nature" attributed to Anne Elizabeth Nasmyth nèe Hartop (1817-1893). These are dated 1866-1868. National Library of Scotland. #hernaturalhistory #botanicalart

Hawthorns for May. Illustrated by Frederick Edward Hulme for ‘The Garland of the Year, or, The Months: their poetry and flowers : with twelve chromographs of flowers, one for each month.’ London, Marcus Ward Co., 1873. #LanguageofFlowers #chromolithograph #giftbook #Hawthorns

Shells from 'Neues systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet' by Friedrich Heinrich Wilhelm Martini and Johann Hieronymus Chemnitz. Nurnberg: Gabriel Nicholaus Raspe. 1769-1829 Courtesy of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Library and Archives. #rarebooks #sciart #shellart

Anemone by Pierre-Joseph Redouté for the book ‘Choix des plus belles fleurs prises dans différentes familles du règne végétal et de quelques branches des plus beaux fruits.’ Published in Paris from 1827-1832. Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections. #rarebooks #botanicalart

Hand-colored engraving of locusts from ‘Der monathlich-herausgegebenen Insecten-Belustigung’ by August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof. Published in Nuremberg, 1746-1761. I saw this at University of Wisconsin-Madison's Special Collections. #naturalhistory #scienceart #insectart #sciart #rarebooks

Woodpeckers drawn from nature by Alexander Wilson and engraved by G. Murray for ‘American Ornithology, or, The Natural History of the Birds of the United States.’ Philadelphia: Bradford and Inskeep. Printed by Robert Carr, 1808. Free Library of Philadelphia Rare Book Department.

I visited the Free Library of Philadelphia Rare Book Department where I viewed two copies of Alexander Wilson’s ‘American Ornithology, or, The Natural History of the Birds of the United States.’ Philadelphia: Bradford & Inskeep. Printed by Robert Carr, 1808. #naturalhistory #birdart

Illustrated herbal ‘Erbario’ written in northern Italy in the 15th century. Held by the University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. LJS 419. #RareBooks #BookHistory #KislakCenter #IlluminatedManuscripts #BotanicalArt

The Azalea Woods at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.

I've dreamed about visiting Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library for years. Last week I made a trip to see Allie Alvis, curator of Special Collections at the Winterthur Library, also known as @book-historia.bsky.social! I got to tag along on a collections tour and here are some highlights.

Aloe from ‘Phytanthoza iconographia: sive conspectus aliquot millium, tam indigenarum quam exoticarum, ex quatuor mundi partibus’ by Johann Wilhelm Weinman. Regensburg: Hieronymus Lentzen, 1737-1745. Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Library. #botanicalart #rarebooks

Last week I took a trip to Philadelphia. I was very excited to go to the Art Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia and meet Alina the librarian there. I've followed them online for years and was so inspired by Art Book Club there that I started one a Milwaukee Public Library.

Senegal bushbaby (Galago senegalensis) from Jean Baptiste Audebert’s ‘Histoire Naturelle des Singes et des Makis.’ Paris: Desray, 1800. University of Chicago Special Collections. #rarebooks #naturalhistory #animalart

Bird illustrations from ‘Abbildungen Zu Oken’s Allgemeiner Naturgeschichte Für Alle Stände’ by Lorenz Oken. Stuttgart: Hoffmann, 1843. University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Special Collections. #birdart #naturalhistory #sciart

Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia. The oldest surviving botanic garden in North America.

Water Hyacinth with Marbled or Veined Tree-Frogs and Giant Water-Bugs from from Maria Sybilla Merian’s ‘Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium.’ Amsterdam: Gerard Valck, 1705. I saw this at London Natural History Museum Library & Archives. #naturalhistory #sciart #hernaturalhistory

Daffodil for April. Illustrated by Frederick Edward Hulme for ‘The Garland of the Year, or, The Months: their poetry and flowers : with twelve chromographs of flowers, one for each month.’ London, Marcus Ward Co., 1873. #LanguageofFlowers #chromolithograph #daffodil #giftbook

Lampropeltis getula, known as the eastern kingsnake, from John Edwards Holbrook’s “North American Herpetology; or, A Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States” published in Philadelphia by J. Dobson, 1842. UW-Madison Special Collections. #naturalhistory #snakeart #kingsnake

Tawny owl (Strix aluco) by Ambrosius Gabler from ‘Naturgeschichte der Vögel Deutschlands in getreuen Abbildungen und Beschreibungen’ by Johann Wolf. Nürnberg: Frauenholz, 1805. University of Chicago Special Collections. #tawnyowl #Strixaluco #birdart #naturalhistory

Daffodils from the expanded edition of ‘Florilegium renovatum et auctum’ by Johann Theodor de Bry. Published in Frankfurt by Matthaeus Merian the elder, 1641. I saw this at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation. #NaturalHistory #BookHistory #Daffodils #Narcissus #BotanicalArt

Ringlet butterfly (Aphantopus hyperantus) from ‘Les papillons dans la nature: 64 planches en couleurs et monographies’ by Paul A. Robert, published by Éditions Delachaux and Niestlé in Neuchâtel in 1934. #naturalhistory #butterflyart #insectart #ringletbutterfly

Sheep by Karl Joseph Brodtmann from ‘Naturhistorische Bilder-Gallerie aus dem Thierreiche.’ Leipzig, 1816. UW-Madison Special Collections. #naturalhistory #animalart #sciart

Spring flowers from by Margaret Roscoe from ‘Floral illustrations of the seasons’ Engraved by Robert Havell Jr. in London, 1838. UW-Madison Special Collections 🌱 #hernaturalhistory #botanicalart #sciart

Yesterday I went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives to learn about the Aldo Leopold Archives. The whole collection had been digitized but it was great to see some of the materials in person! search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AAld...

Fish paintings based on Mark Catesby illustrations. From the album ‘Collection de fleurs, d’oiseaux d’insectes.’ Drawn and colored by various students of the Royal School of Sorèze. Manuscript, 1783-1789. Harvard’s Houghton Library. #naturalhistory #sciart #animalart

Unicorn from Edward Topsell’s “The History of the Four-footed Beasts and Serpents” published in 1658. The book was a translation of Conrad Gessner’s “Historia animalium” 1551–1558 and features many of the same woodcuts. UW-Madison Special Collections library. #naturalhistory #unicornday

Mushrooms from ‘Atlas des champignons comestibles et vénéneux’ by Joseph Roques. Paris: V. Masson, 1864. #naturalhistory #mushroomart #mycology #mushrooms