Raffles' Ark Redrawn: Natural History Drawings from the Collection of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles - Brossura

Noltie, H. J.

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0712350845 ISBN 13: 9780712350846

Casa editrice: British Library Board, 2009

Riassunto

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (1781–1826) is best known today as the founder of Singapore, though he was also a passionate scholar of all aspects of the Malay world who amassed a superb collection of drawings and manuscripts during his nearly twenty years in Southeast Asia in the service of the East India Company.

 

 Raffles’ Ark Redrawn is a lushly illustrated catalog of the 120 natural history drawings that comprise the Raffles Family Collection, acquired by the British Library in 2007. The story of these colorful drawings of plants, birds, and mammals is a dramatic one: Chinese and French artists from the island of Sumatra composed the bulk of them during one ten-week period in 1824, in order to replace over 2,000 similar drawings, priceless Malay manuscripts, animal specimens, and living animals (including a tiger specially tamed for the voyage!) that perished in a shipboard fire. Accompanied by 130 full-color illustrations, this volume captures an array of historical flora and fauna superbly reproduced for lover of exotic plants and gardens.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

Through this exquisite collection of natural history drawings in the British Library, Henry Noltie has brought alive the career and tribulations of Sir Stamford Raffles ... The work is a literary tour-de-force and the plates are beautifully and faithfully reproduced --Professor David J. Mabberley, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Raffles Ark Redrawn is a fully illustrated catalogue of the 123 colourful natural history drawings of the Raffles Family Collection, acquired by the British Library in 2007 ... The collection represents a remarkable snapshot of the colourful flora and fauna of Sumatra, some of it unknown to Western science when these drawings were made, but to which Raffles responded both emotionally and in a spirit of enquiry. --Asia this week

a jewel not only for those interested in the natural history of insular Southeast Asia, but also for the collector of natural fine art books. --Jana Igunma, Southeast Asia Library Group Newsletter

L'autore:

Henry Noltie is a taxonomist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. He has written two volumes of the Flora of Bhutan and several books on botanical drawings made by Indian artists for the East India Company.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: British Library Board
• Data di pubblicazione: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0712350845
• ISBN 13: 9780712350846
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 180