This cataloge explores the interrelationship between the science of entomology and the art of illustration by highlighting some of the key holdings of early and classic works on insects in the University of Alberta Library. George E. Ball demonstrates how advances in printing technologies from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries contributed to the developing body of entomological knowledge. The cataloge highlights some of the key holdings of early and classic works on insects in the University of Alberta Library, dating from the early 16th century to the early 20th century. From the 1517 Hortus Sanitatus, with its rough woodcuts, to the beautifully rendered watercolours of Maria Sibylla Merian in the early 1800s, Dr. Ball has selected a series of works that demonstrate pivotal points in the development of insect illustration over a period of four hundred years. The cataloge includes Dr. Ball’s engaging essay on how the dissemination of entomological knowledge was impacted by improved printing techniques, scientific observation and artistic perspective, and the development of microscopy.
