Elizabeth Blackwell was one of the first women to achieve fame as a botanical illustrator, which she became to free her husband from a debtor’s prison. Elizabeth drew and engraved five hundred illustrations of plants for the publication. The two-volume set was a very successful venture, due in no small part to the enthusiastic support it received from the medical and pharmaceutical professions, and Blackwell earned more than enough money to secure her husband’s release.

BLACKWELL, ELIZABETH (c1700-1758). A CURIOUS HERBAL.
London: Printed for Samuel Harding, 1737-1739.
(Missouri Botanical Garden)