26 used & new from $19.92

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
A Victorian Naturalist: Beatrix Potter's Drawings from the Armitt Collection
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

A Victorian Naturalist: Beatrix Potter's Drawings from the Armitt Collection (Hardcover)

~ Eileen Jay (Author), Mary Noble (Author), Anne Stevenson Hobbs (Author), Beatrix Potter (Illustrator)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)


Available from these sellers.


10 new from $42.18 15 used from $19.92 1 collectible from $65.00

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature

Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature

by Linda Lear
4.7 out of 5 stars (15)  $13.57
Beatrix Potter: A Journal

Beatrix Potter: A Journal

by Beatrix Potter
4.8 out of 5 stars (34)  $13.59
At Home with Beatrix Potter: The Creator of Peter Rabbit

At Home with Beatrix Potter: The Creator of Peter Rabbit

by Susan Denyer
5.0 out of 5 stars (8)  $16.47
Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales

Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales

by Beatrix Potter
4.9 out of 5 stars (60)  $25.20
Beatrix Potter: The Artist and Her World 1866-1943

Beatrix Potter: The Artist and Her World 1866-1943

by Judy Taylor
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

One of the most unusual collections of Beatrix Potter's art is held by a small trust in the English Lake District, the Armitt Library in Ambleside, Cumbria. The collection comprises studies of fossils, archaeological finds, mosses, lichens, microscope drawings and many exceptionally fine fungus paintings. This book contains reproductions of these superb watercolours, along with a commentary by various experts on Beatrix Potter's scientific work.

Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 9-12
  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Warne; First edition edition (October 1, 1992)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0723239908
  • ISBN-13: 978-0723239901
  • Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.1 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #788,031 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

A Victorian Naturalist: Beatrix Potter's Drawings from the Armitt Collection
53% buy the item featured on this page:
A Victorian Naturalist: Beatrix Potter's Drawings from the Armitt Collection 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature
18% buy
Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature 4.7 out of 5 stars (15)
$13.57
Beatrix Potter: A Journal
12% buy
Beatrix Potter: A Journal 4.8 out of 5 stars (34)
$13.59
The Tale of Beatrix Potter: A Biography
9% buy
The Tale of Beatrix Potter: A Biography 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
$13.09

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

1 Review
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beatrix Potter, field scientist, December 29, 2007
By wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
Yes, that Beatrix Potter. No, really.

Before she switched to children's stories, Potter became an accomplished amateur mycologist - in a place and time when nearly all naturalists were amateurs. Although painting and nature drawing in particular were common skills in the pre-photography era, Potter became especially accomplished. This collection chronicles her growth as a scientific observer, even showing how specific points in her study of British fungi changed the sets of observations captured in her watercolors. This beautfiful book collects many of her scientific illustrations and outlines her career as naturalist, with side trips to archaeology and geology.

These watercolors remain as vivid and precise as ever. They are completely adequate for identifying each species shown, even when subtle differences distinguish similar taxa. In fact, some of these paintings establish her primacy of discovery. One case describes the first reported sighting of some mushroom species in Scotland, as recorded in the literature of the day, then unequivocally shows the same species in her Scottish field notes more than a decade earlier. Potter brought her science into the lab, too, where she pioneered culture of many mushroom species that had never been raised from spores before. Again, her drawings and paintings record microscope images that remain true to nature, and that capture visual knowledge held by no one else in the world of her time. Through techniques she developed, she pioneered new studies in the growth of mushrooms, overturning several volumes of incorrect knowledge in the process. She made enough progress in that world for one of her papers to be read (by a man) at a major scientific conference.

Therein lay her drama. The scientific establishment of the day was a hidebound men's club of squabbling personalities. They caught her in the double bind that, if her reports went beyond or (gasp!) contradicted current authority, then they must be rejected; if they replicated what was known, then there was no reason to accept them. Simply being female was reason enough to disregard her work.

None of that detracts from her achievements as artist and observer. If anything, she demonstrates that science and art hold more in common than not, and that anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't know enough about either. Photographic realism is the least of her accomplishments - her sense of composition combined with her scientific training created illustrations that would improve any contemporary text in which they appeared.

-- wiredweird
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   



So You'd Like to...

Create a guide

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.



Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.