Mark Catesby's Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahamas was a runaway bestseller when it hit the London scene in the mid-1700s. The paintings and descriptions of North American natural history captured the imagination of Europeans, played an important part in the creation of modern taxonomy, and probably persuaded at least a few people to make their homes in the New World.
Alas, though Catesby retains some fame, many people have no idea who he was or what he did. Fewer still actually read his book. That's a pity, because he had a lot to say, both for his time and for ours.
If Catesby were working today, he would almost certainly be doing his work online. (And with digital cameras and GPS, etc... obviously!) We've decided to present his work in blog format, to make it more accessible to a modern audience. I've re-written his text to modernize his language, but this is essentially still the work of Mark Catesby.
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