In 1712, English naturalist Mark Catesby (1683-1749) crossed the Atlantic to Virginia. After a seven-year stay, he returned to England with paintings of plants and animals he had studied. They sufficiently impressed other naturalists that in 1722 several Fellows of the Royal Society sponsored his return to North America. There Catesby cataloged the flora and fauna of the Carolinas and the Bahamas by gathering seeds and specimens, compiling notes, and making watercolor sketches. Going home to England after five years, he began the twenty-year task of writing, etching, and publishing his monumental The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands. Mark Catesby was a man of exceptional courage and determination combined with insatiable curiosity and multiple talents. Nevertheless no portrait of him is known. The international contributors to this volume review Catesby's biography alongside the historical and scientific significance of his work. Ultimately, this lavishly illustrated volume advances knowledge of Catesby's explorations, collections, artwork, and publications in order to reassess his importance within the pantheon of early naturalists.

To mark the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and the sesquicentenary of "On the Origin of the Species," the Society for the History of Natural History have issued a special publication, "Darwin in the Archives."

This "Archives of Natural History" special publication will include facsimiles of papers on Darwin published before 2005 in the "Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History" and "Archives of Natural History"; a reprint of the Sherborn Fund Facsimile no 3 (1968) of Charles Darwin's "Questions About the Breeding of Animals" (1840); an introduction by Sir Gavin de Beer; and a specially commisioned essay about the Society's particular contribution to Darwin scholarship by guest associate editor, Duncan Porter.