Catesby’s Natural History

£50.00

Usually dispatched within 2-5 days
Catesby’s Natural History Author: Format: Hardback First Published: Published By: Bodleian Library
string(3) "304"
Pages: 304 Illustrations and other contents: 230 Illustrations, color Language: English ISBN: 9781851246397 Categories: , , , , ,

Mark Catesby was an eighteenth-century naturalist and artist whose work on the natural history of North America and the Caribbean still has resonance today. During the course of several perilous trips he collected specimens and made extensive observations in the field, gathering material that would eventually become The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, featuring 220 elaborate and distinctive hand-coloured plates. Widely appreciated in their time, Catesby’s stunning illustrations, with their striking combinations of animals and plants, together with the first-hand observations he made, catalysed interest in the natural history of Colonial America and established his work as a key reference for the scientific understanding of natural history. As an artist, Catesby meticulously recording the environment, sifting fact from fiction about the lives of the plants and animals he observed. As a collector, he introduced many living plants to Britain, thereby changing European gardens forever. This beautiful book, which reproduces all the plates, shows how Catesby’s practical field experience shaped his work in all areas. Whether through the now-extinct species he recorded or the cultural changes he witnessed, his research continues to be relevant, demonstrating the vulnerability and fragility of the natural world.

Weight1.25136 kg
Author

Editor
Photographer
Format

Illustrators
Publisher

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

More than 200 plates depicting the flora and fauna of North America and the Caribbean, hand-coloured by the influential 18th-century naturalist Mark Catesby, are printed here in full splendour, accompanied by a thorough argument for Catesby’s significance in the history of naturalism. * Off the Shelf * 'Catesby’s Natural History was pronounced a wonder when it was first published and is a wonder still...This is an important record of the natural history of sub-tropical North America,100 years after the first European settlements but before the American Revolution. The re-publication of the second edition of 1754, held in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, produced by its publishing arm at £50, and with several illuminating chapters by Stephen A. Harris, Druce Curator of Oxford University Herbaria, is an event to celebrate.' -- Ursula Buchan * The year’s best gardening books *

Author Biography

Stephen Harris is Druce Curator at the Oxford University Herbaria and a University Research Lecturer.