Who was James Sowerby?
Q: Who was James Sowerby?
A: James Sowerby was an English naturalist and illustrator who lived and worked in the London of the late 18th and 19th centuries. He did the illustration for many published works, such as English Botany and A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland.
Q: What is "Sowerby's Botany"?
A: Sowerby's Botany is a 36-volume work on English botany which was published over 24 years. It contains 2592 hand-colored engravings, with text written by James Edward Smith.
Q: What is "Coloured figures of English fungi or mushrooms"?
A: Coloured figures of English fungi or mushrooms is a 4-volume work written by James Sowerby to supplement his work on English Botany. It contains detailed descriptions and appealing plates in vivid colour intended to reach a growing readership interested in natural history.
Q: What is "A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland"?
A: A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland is a monograph on the flora of Australia, written by James Edward Smith and illustrated by James Sowerby. It was intended to meet "the general interest in, and propagation of, the flowering species" from antipodean colonies.
Q: How did the Sowerby family become known?
A: The Sowerby family became known as a dynasty of illustrators and natural historians due to their work with William Curtis on Flora Londinensis, as well as their own projects such as Coloured Figures Of English Fungi Or Mushrooms and A Specimen Of The Botany Of New Holland.
Q: When did James Sowerby first begin working with William Curtis?
A: James Sowerby began working with William Curtis in 1790 when he started illustrating for early volumes of The Botanical Magazine (edited by Curtis).
