Elizabeth Blackwell published “A Curious Herbal” in parts between 1735 and 1737. This magnificent work, that I have seen at other libraries, includes her illustrations of 500 plants that were selected for their pharmaceutical qualities. The artist lived near the Chelsea Physic Garden in London and drew from live examples in that garden’s collections. Blackwell also wrote a brief text for each plant describing the size, growing conditions, bloom time, medicinal uses, and the name in several other European languages.
Besides the merit of this work for its high quality, Blackwell has a compelling story of perseverance under extremes challenges. However, that story has lacked documentation of many details, including such basic facts as the places and years of her birth and death.
The original is very rare, so I w
as eager for the publication in 2023 of “A Curious Herbal: Elizabeth Blackwell’s Pioneering Masterpiece of Botanical Art,” an excellent reproduction that is near to full-size. Like in the original, these images do not follow a taxonomic system, but rather were done as the live specimens became available. It will not surprise gardeners that the first plate done in early spring is of Taraxacum officinale, the dandelion.
What makes this book even more valuable is the introduction by editor Marta McDowell, and a biography of the artist by Janet Stiles Tyson. In this latter chapter, we learned that recently found documents indicate Blackwell was born in London in 1699 and named Elizabeth Simpson. She married Alexander Blackwell, a printer from Scotland in 1733, but he was bankrupt less than a year later.
Elizabeth was forced to support her family. “Friends advised her to produce pictures that could be published by subscription.” These efforts were successful, but her reckless husband continued to complicate her life. He moved to Sweden for work in 1742, leaving Elizabeth pregnant with their last child. He never returned and was later accused of treason and executed by the Swedish government. Sadly, little is known about Elizabeth after his death, although some sources list her death year as 1758.
While this story may seem incomplete, Blackwell’s legacy lives on through her work. This book captures that history and received an Award of Excellence in History from the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries in 2024.
Reviewed by: Brian Thompson on May 20, 2024
Excerpted from the Summer 2024 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin