Highlighting an enduring interest in natural history from the 16th century to the present, this gorgeous book explores depictions of the natural world, from centuries-old manuscripts to contemporary artists’ books.  It examines the scientific pursuits in the 18th and 19th centuries that resulted in the collecting and cataloguing of the natural world.  It also investigates the aesthetically oriented activities of self-taught naturalists in the 19th century, who gathered flowers, ferns, seaweed, feathers, and other naturalia into albums.  Examples of 20th- and 21st-century artists’ books, including those of Eileen Hogan, Mandy Bonnell, and Tracey Bush, broaden the vision of the natural world to incorporate its interaction with consumer culture and with modern technologies.  Featuring dazzling illustrations, the book itself is designed to evoke a fieldwork notebook, and features a collection pocket and ribbon markers. Published in association with the Yale Center for British Art Exhibition Schedule: Yale Center for British Art (05/15/14–08/10/14) “Elegantly designed . . . almost an artist’s book in itself . . . [and] an important contribution to the study of how artists see and depict nature through the medium of the book.”—Stephen J. Bury, Print Quarterly (Dec 2015) 'The stunning illustrations capture our nation's enduring interest in natural history, from illuminated manuscripts and traditional botanical drawings to artists' books as installations. Lovers of nature and beautiful books will love the enchanting details: a pocket for pressed flowers and multiple ribbon markers. An exquisite tribute to the British countryside.'-- The Lady (13 June 2014) 'The book is a delight, with page after page of wonderful representations of nature--from simple, pressed flowers, pencil drawings, wood engravings and watercolors to elaborate paper-cut art and digital prints. The way in which these scientific and artistic observations from various eras have been juxtaposed is fascinating....' -Juliet Roberts, Gardens Illustrated (August 2014) 'Just looking at the front and back cover of this beautiful publication, the ribbon markers which match the colours of the illustrations, and the little specimen pocket which must have been attached by hand to each copy, I knew I was in for a treat....It would be a wonderful addition to the library of any naturalist or artist. A feast for the eyes....'--Sue Brooks, Caught by the River (7 August 2014) 'The sheer beauty of some of the watercolours, prints and paper-cuts is astounding. They make me long to sit for days in the Yale library and leaf through the other pages. And the book is flawlessly produced, right down to the pocket at the back to tuck your own cuttings in, and ribbon markers in Farrow & Ball hues.'--Augusta Pownall, The Spectator (26 July 2014) 'In our increasingly digital age, it's a pleasure to be reminded of the enduring beauty of physical objects .... the resulting treasure trove is an unmissable record of the human response to the natural world.'--Seth Burgess, BBC Wildlife Magazine (August 2014) ‘There’s something charmingly retro about this volume, which is deliberately designed to evoke an old-fashioned fieldwork book, complete with a pocket in the back for your own notes and specimens.’—Caroline Bugler, V&A Magazine (Caroline Bugler V&A Magazine 2014-07-01) “At its core, ‘Of Green Leaf, Bird, and Flower’ delights in that oh-so-human urge to catalog and collect, to understand, and then to pass that insight on to others — making it a book in which science and art blissfully hold hands. . . . The wonderfully unruly heart of ‘Green Leaf’ is a section called ‘Field Guide to the British Countryside.’ With its crows and wildflowers, blackberries and brambles, butterflies and lichens, it bolsters the notion that amateur field guides are living books, suffused by the adamant passion that we are enriched by our every tryst with nature. . . . ‘Green Leaf’ is all about the joys of looking hard…. Dana Jennings, “Art Entangled in Nature,” New York Times ( Science section ), (15 Sept 2014) “This book brings together a wide range of responses to nature by both amateurs and professionals. . . . 'Of Green Leaf, Bird, and Flower' is . . . whimsical, eclectic and full of surprises.” Susan Owens , World of Interiors , (September 2014) ‘A wonderful book that juxtaposes images made at different points in time to encourage you to think about the choices that an artist makes when depicting nature and that leaves you marvelling at the skill with which mere pigment on paper can be used to mimic the bloom on the skin of a plum, the texture of oak bark and such commonplace miracles of nature as thistledown and dandelion.’—Salon ( Society of Antiquaries of London ) “The most striking feature of this illuminating and beautifully produced book is the kinship of representations of nature in Western books from early herbals to the present…. [It is] a carefully