Clik here to view.
Her “Diversion”: The Gardening and Botanical Pursuits of Mary Somerset,...
Prominent botanist and cataloger of gardens, William Sherard (1659-1728), was hired by an aristocrat to tutor her grandson in botany for "hee loving my diversion so well.” This was Mary Somerset, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Passionate pioneers – increasing access to botanical artwork by women artists
Historically, female botanists and botanical artists were rarely given as much credit as their male counterparts. Botanical art was often viewed as a pleasant pastime for women who had time on their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Life and Works of Margaret Meen
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has been partnering with the Oak Spring Garden Foundation to digitize works by women botanical artists held in Kew’s archives. One of these talented but largely unknown...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Botanical Field Guides of Alice Lounsberry and Ellis Rowan
Artist Marian Ellis Rowan depicts herself with botanist Alice Lounsberry collaborated to produce several botanical guidebooks. Their three guides are illustrated with pen and ink illustrations as well...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Elizabeth Gould: An Accomplished Woman
The beautiful lithographs produced by Elizabeth Gould show lively birds of all shapes and colors performing mating displays, protecting their young, and interacting with their environments. A far cry...
View ArticleClik here to view.
#HerNaturalHistory: Open Data, BHL, and Wiki Projects
Wiki projects, including Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, contain the information that powers the web. Wikipedia is the fifth most-visited website in the world. To edit a Wiki project is to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Discovering Emma J. Cole (1845-1910), Author of the “Remarkably Fine” Grand...
In the early years of the 21st century, I was delving into the archives of the Grand Rapids Public Museum researching a book to celebrate their 150th anniversary in 2004. Among the lists of men...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Legacy of late-19th-Century Emma Jane Cole and her Grand Rapids Flora...
Nearly 120 years ago Emma Jane Cole (1901) published Grand Rapids Flora: A Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Ferns Growing Without Cultivation in the Vicinity of Grand Rapids, Michigan....
View ArticleClik here to view.
A lifetime among Cacti: Helia Bravo-Hollis
Four days before becoming a centenarian, Dr. Helia Bravo Hollis passed away, on September 26th, 2001. Her biography is the history of the inclusion of women in the scientific research community and the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Marjorie Eileen Doris Courtenay-Latimer: Beyond the Coelacanth
Marjorie Eileen Doris Courtenay-Latimer (1907-2004) is ubiquitously remembered and celebrated for her part in recognising that the large fish trawled by Capt. Hendrik Goosen and the crew of the Nerine...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mary Margaret Smith: Ichthyologist, Artist, and First Director of the JLB...
The Library at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity is named for Mary Margaret Smith (née Macdonald), the first Director of the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology. Macdonald attended...
View ArticleClik here to view.
General Instructions for Rearing Silkworms: Louise Rienzi and California’s...
Title page. Rienzi, Louise. General instructions for rearing silkworms. 1887. Contributed in BHL from the Library of Congress. When Louise Rienzi wrote her guide on General Instructions for Rearing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dorothea Eliza Smith: Resilient Botanical Illustrator
As we celebrate the role women have played in the natural history sciences, we can find many examples of successful women who have been under-appreciated for the meaningful work they did during their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Henrietta Page sketchbook of fungi drawings
The Harvard Botany Libraries recently acquired and digitized Henrietta Page's [Sketchbook of drawings of fungi], volume II. The sketchbook was a gift from the Boston Mycological Club (BMC) where Page...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hildegarde Howard: The Greatest Avian Paleontologist You’ve Probably Never...
Nearly 100 years ago, a fresh faced journalism student at the Southern Branch of the University of California (now UCLA) walked into Ms. Pirie Davidson’s biology classroom (Campbell, 2000, 775). This...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Popular and Prolific Ms. Pratt
During the Victorian era, many gifted women participated in what has been called the “Golden Age of botanical art,” reflecting both a surge in gardening interests across English society, as well...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Language of Flowers: 19th Century Literary Genre Offered Opportunities for...
“Language of Flowers”, a popular literary trend in the 19th century, presented the world of botany through dictionaries of flowers and associated meanings, floral poetry and prose, offering a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Changes Coming to the BHL Data Exports Files on 10 April 2019
On 10 April 2019, we will implement additions and changes to the export files available from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. The updates involve the following: A new set of exports will be created...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How the BHL Makes Little Brown Beetle Species Discovery Easier
There are more described species of beetles (order Coleoptera) than any other group of organisms on the planet. With over 350,000 described extant and extinct species and subspecies, beetles represent...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BHL LEADS Project at the 2019 iConference
BHL was pleased to have the results of their participation in the 2018 LIS Education and Data Science for the National Digital Platform (LEADS-4-NDP) shared via a poster at the 2019 iConference held at...
View Article