Linnean Lens | The “Curious” Life of Elizabeth Blackwell

Our Librarian, Will Beharrell introduces a beautiful botanical book with a fascinating and troubled history - Elizabeth Blackwell’s Curious Herbal. First issued in parts between 1737 and 1739 - containing 500 meticulously engraved images of medicinal plants - the book was both a unique passion project and a desperate bid by its author to rescue her family from debt. An incredible exercise in skill, determination, and endurance, the Curious Herbal is a remarkable scientific and artistic achievement from one of botany’s unsung heroes.
Will Beharrell is the Librarian of the Linnean Society of London. He has nearly a decade’s experience in specialist and rare books collections, having worked for Magdalen College, All Souls College, Merton College, The Bodleian Libraries, and the English Faculty Library in Oxford. He currently manages the Society’s library service, and facilitates use of its collections for research, public engagement, and education. Since June 2019 he has acted as administrator for the Linnaeus Link project, an international effort to create a union catalogue of material by and about the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, in collaboration with partner institutions around the world.
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The Linnean Society works to inform, involve and inspire people of all ages about nature and its wider interactions through our collections, programmes and publications. Founded in 1788, the Society takes its name from the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778).
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