A Curious Herbal: Elizabeth Blackwell's Pioneering Masterpiece of Botanical Art

A complete edition of the first herbal published by a woman artist—which has a remarkable backstory

In the 1730s, Elizabeth Blackwell (1699–c. 1758) found herself penniless, with her ne’er-do-well husband confined to a London debtor’s prison. A talented artist, she came up with a unique and ambitious moneymaking scheme: the publication of a new illustrated guide to medicinal plants, including many New World species not depicted in earlier books. Blackwell’s Curious Herbal, published between ...