Mark Catesby, a little-known English naturalist, spent 12 years exploring Britain’s colonies in south-eastern North America in the early decades of the 18th century. The book that he published afterwards in London, The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (1729-1747), was the first fully illustrated work on the flora and fauna of any part of our continent. In two large folio volumes, he included 220 full-page, hand-colored illustrations of hundreds of species of trees, flowers, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, and mammals, most of them the first view Europeans had of North-American plants and animals.
Month: March 2011
With warmer weather just around the corner, we decided to feature a trade catalog showing Spring and Summer clothing. John E. Kaughran & Co.’s Illustrated Catalogue, Spring and Summer, 1884 takes us back to the late nineteenth century to show us the latest in fashion for the 1884 seasons.
We are pleased to announce that the Galaxy of Images is the featured collection in this month’s D-LIB Magazine. D-LIB is an online journal of digital library research. Its informative articles are made freely available by funding from the Corporation for National Research Initiatives and other sponsors.
The Libraries has some wonderful examples of children’s books, many of which include poems for little ones. This particular late 19th-century item includes illustrations by with pictures by Helen Allingham, Kate Greenaway, Caroline Paterson, and Harry Furniss.
You hopefully aren't still reeling from the the recent spring forward and can now be happy that it is really, truly Spring. John Wright, Flower grower's guide, vol. 1-6, 1898, Hyacinths-Crocus-Snowdrops and more »
Here are selected new books from the National Museum of the American Indian Library.