Mark Catesby's Animal Illustrations (Voyage of 1722)

Mark Catesby (1683 - 1749) was a pioneer of botanical exploration. Driven by his curiosity to observe the plants and animals that were “strangers to England,” he traveled to Virginia where he stayed with relatives. During that seven year period (1712 - 1719), he sent plants back to friends in England, in particular Mr. Dale of Essex. He also sent along some observations which were then communicated to William Sherard, a celebrated English Botanist. An elite group of men befriended and eventually sponsored Catesby’s second voyage to America. That voyage lasted from 1722 until 1726 to areas such as Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas regions.

Upon his return, he was encouraged to print a book about his observations but found the engraving costs to be too expensive. He decided to engrave plates himself and took a unique and more laborious approach to their production. A selection of prints from those books are included in this publication.