Elizabeth Blackwell (illustrator)
Encyclopedia
Botanical illustrator
A botanical illustrator is a person who paints, sketches or otherwise illustrates botanical subjects such as trees and flowers. The job requires great artistic skill, attention to fine detail, and technical botanical knowledge...
and author. She achieved fame as a botanical illustrator, and was both artist and engraver for the plates of "A Curious Herbal", published between 1737 and 1739. The book illustrated many odd-looking and unknown plants from the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, and was designed as a reference work on medicinal plants for the use of physicians and apothecaries.
Aberdeen
Elizabeth Blachrie, was the daughter of a successful Scottish merchant in AberdeenAberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, and was trained as an artist. She secretly married her cousin, Alexander Blackwell
Alexander Blackwell
Alexander Blackwell was a Scots adventurer.He was born in Aberdeen, studied medicine, took to printing, and was thrown into prison for debt. His wife Elizabeth Blackwell supported him by writing and publishing a herbal...
(1709–47), a Scottish doctor and economist and settled in Aberdeen where he maintained a medical practice. Although his education was sound, his qualifications were questioned, leading to the young couple’s hasty move to London, fearing charges that Alexander was practicing illegally.
London
In London Alexander became associated with a publishing firm, and having gained some experience, established his own printing house, despite not belonging to a guild nor having served the required apprenticeship as a printer. He was charged with flouting the strict trade rules, and heavily fined, forcing him to close his shop.Prison
By now Elizabeth was destitute. Because of Alexander’s lavish spending and the fines that had been imposed, the couple were heavily in debt - Alexander found himself in debtor’s prison. With her husband in gaol, a household to run, a child to care for, and with no income, the situation was desperate. She learned that a herbalPharmacopoeia
Pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea, , in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of samples and the preparation of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a government or a medical or pharmaceutical society.In a broader sense it is...
was needed to depict and describe exotic plants from the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
. She decided that she could illustrate it, and that Alexander, given his medical background, could write the descriptions of the plants. As she completed the drawings, Elizabeth would take them to her husband’s cell where he supplied the correct names in Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and German.
Unlike her husband, Elizabeth was untrained in botany. To compensate for this, she was aided by Isaac Rand
Isaac Rand
Isaac Rand was an English botanist and apothecary, who was a lecturer and director at the Chelsea Physic Garden.-Life:Isaac was probably son of James Rand, who in 1674 agreed, with thirteen other members of the Society of Apothecaries, to build a wall round the Chelsea Botanical Garden...
, then curator of the Chelsea Physick Garden
Chelsea Physic Garden
The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries’ Garden in London, England in 1673. It is the second oldest botanical garden in Britain, after the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, which was founded in 1621.Its rock garden is the oldest English garden devoted to alpine plants...
, where many of these new plants were under cultivation. At Rand’s suggestion, she relocated near the Garden so she could draw the plants from life. In addition to the drawings, Elizabeth engraved the copper printing plates for the 500 images and text, and hand-coloured the printed illustrations.
The first printing of A Curious Herbal met with moderate success, both because of the meticulous quality of the illustrations and the great need for an updated herbal. Physicians and apothecaries acclaimed the work, and it received a commendation from the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
. A second edition was printed 20 years later in a revised and enlarged format in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
by Dr. Christoph Jacob Trew, a botanist and physician, between 1757 and 1773.
Revenue from the book led to Alexander’s release from prison. However, within a short while debts again accumulated, forcing the couple to sell some of the publication rights to the book. Alexander also became involved in several unsuccessful business ventures, and eventually left the family to start a new life in Sweden.
Sweden
Blackwell arrived in Sweden in 1742 and carried on with agricultural experiments he had started when in Aberdeen. These included the breeding of horses and sheep, and dairy management. His achievements were recognised, and he was appointed court physician to Frederick I of SwedenFrederick I of Sweden
Frederick I, , was a prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and a King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730...
. Blackwell attempted to strengthen the diplomatic ties between Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. As Great Britain had no ambassador in Sweden, he contacted a Minister in Denmark. On circumstantial evidence he was accused of conspiracy against the Crown Prince. He was tried and sentenced to be decapitated. He remained in good spirits to the last - at the block, having laid his head wrong, he remarked that since it was his first beheading, he lacked experience and needed instruction. On 9 August 1747 he was executed as Elizabeth was leaving London to join him.
Little is known of Elizabeth's later years. She died in 1758, and her grave is in a Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
cemetery. She remained loyal to Alexander throughout, even sharing royalties with him from the sale of additional book rights.
Featured at the British Library
Elizabeth Blackwell's "A Curious Herbal" has featured on the British LibraryBritish Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
website as a "classic of botanical illustration". The book is available to view online using the Turning the Pages
Turning the Pages
Turning the Pages is software technology for viewing scanned books on-line in a realistic and detailed manner. It was developed by the British Library in partnership with Armadillo Systems.The original version, first released in 1997, uses Adobe Shockwave....
system.
Publications
- A curious herbal: containing five hundred cuts, of the most useful plants, which are now used in the practice of physick engraved on folio copper plates, after drawings taken from the life / by Elizabeth Blackwell. To which is added a short description of ye plants and their common uses in physick. (LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 1737–1739), her great herbalHerbalAThe use of a or an depends on whether or not herbal is pronounced with a silent h. herbal is "a collection of descriptions of plants put together for medicinal purposes." Expressed more elaborately — it is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their...
, which contained engravings drawn from specimens in the Chelsea Physic GardenChelsea Physic GardenThe Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries’ Garden in London, England in 1673. It is the second oldest botanical garden in Britain, after the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, which was founded in 1621.Its rock garden is the oldest English garden devoted to alpine plants...
External links
Historical editions- Elizabeth Blackwell's 'A Curious Herbal' (From the British LibraryBritish LibraryThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
- includes biography) - A Curious Herbal, 1737 (From the British LibraryBritish LibraryThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
- click on "Classic of botanical illustration"). - Elizabeth Blackwell (MBG rare Books))
Further reading
- de Bray, Lys (2001). The Art of Botanical Illustration: A history of classic illustrators and their achievements, p. 72. Quantum Publishing Ltd., London. ISBN 1-86160-425-4.