Elizabeth Blackwell's Curious Herbal
Botanical art is an ancient discipline which has long enabled scientists to understand, classify, record and share knowledge of plants and their life cycles.
For one young woman in the 1730s, it also proved a way to earn a much needed income, free her husband from incarceration, and gain widespread recognition for her artistic and scientific abilities.
This is the story of Elizabeth Blackwell and her "Curious Herbal".
Conflicting accounts exist as to Elizabeth’s early life but what seems beyond doubt is that she was born into a well-to-do family in the early years of the 1700s. She received a good education and substantial dowry, but her fortunes changed upon her marriage to Alexander Blackwell, a doctor in training. Blackwell proved to be a liability and serially found himself in legal difficulties. In the 1730s he set up a printing business in London, but did so without having served an apprenticeship or become a member of the appropriate guild (the Worshipful Company of Stationers) and he soon faced legal complaints. Bankrupted by the consequences of his actions, Blackwell was thrown into debtors’ prison, leaving Elizabeth to fend for herself and raise the money to pay her husband’s release. But what Alexander lacked in reason, Elizabeth made up for in resourcefulness. She was educated and well connected, she could draw and paint and she had an interest in botany.
Elizabeth approached Sir Hans Sloane and Dr Richard Mead, both prominent doctors, with examples of her botanical drawings.
They were impressed and supportive of her plans to publish a herbal, a comprehensive, illustrated guide to medicinal plants and their uses.
Sir Sloane owned the Manor of Chelsea, including the land which was home to the Apothecaries' Garden, a four acre site on the banks of the Thames where Londons's "Worshipful Society of Apothecaries" grew all manner of medicinal plants. The garden had been established in 1673 as a training ground for apprentice apothecaries and to supply the Society's shop and laboratory.
Elizabeth took up residence in Swan Walk, a street adjacent to the Garden, to use the garden’s specimens as her references.
To save money Elizabeth not only drew the plants, but created her own engravings on copper so that they could be printed and published. She produced 500 botanical illustrations, and apparently visited her husband in prison for his assistance on the annotations and explanations of each plant’s medicinal use. In order to raise funds at speed, Elizabeth hand coloured the prints herself and sold them weekly in sets of four. Later the plates were compiled into two volumes entitled A Curious Herbal containing Five Hundred Cuts of the most useful Plants that are now used in the practice of Physick.
The book was a huge scientific achievement. It became a trusted reference for apothecaries and physicians and was lauded by prominent members of these professions.
This Isaac Rand, director of the Apothecaries’ garden and Joseph Miller, its chief gardener, also lent their recommendation to the book, their names appearing alongside several leading surgeons and doctors in an endorsement of the volumes.
Each plate is captioned "Eliz. Blackwell delin. scuplt. et Pinx" meaning "Elizabeth Blackwell drew, engrved and painted" the illustrations.
The funds made from the book helped Elizabeth to settle her husband's debts and free him from prison.
In contrast to Elizabeth’s success, Alexander continued to be an unstable and costly presence and in the 1740s Elizabeth would sell the rights to her book in order to pay off more of his debts. In this decade Alexander left England for Sweden, where he was associated with the highest ranks of society. Yet he continued to create strife and, in 1747, was beheaded for treason.
Historians are uncertain about the circumstances in which Elizabeth’s industrious and enterprising yet undoubtedly difficult life ended. She did not follow Alexander to Sweden, however, and she is buried less than half a mile from the Physic Garden, in Chelsea Old Church, where she is memorialised on a plaque marking the lives of some distinguished women of Chelsea.
The Chelsea Physic Garden, where Elizabeth studied and drew the botanical specimens, still exists today and is open to the public from Sunday to Friday.
This photograph was taken within the garden, looking towards Swan Walk, where Elizabeth once resided.
You can view a digitised version of the Curious Herbal on the Royal Horticultural Society's website.
Chelsea Physic Garden
66 Royal Hospital Road, SW3 4HS
www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk
Chelsea Old Church
64 Cheyne Walk, SW3 5LT
www.chelseaoldchurch.org.uk
Built with Shorthand