Thomas Say and the Art of American Natural History

Long before field guides made the natural world familiar, documenting a butterfly required patience, close observation, and an unusual combination of science and art. Species had to be collected, studied, described, drawn, engraved, and printed before they could be seen by readers beyond the places where they were found.

Thomas Say helped establish that work in the United States.

Born in Philadelphia in 1787, Say was a naturalist with wide-ranging interests, but he became best known for his study of insects. In 1812, he helped found the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, one of the earliest institutions of its kind in the United States. At a time when American natural history was still a developing field, Say devoted himself to identifying and describing the insects of North America.

His work also took him far beyond the collections of the Academy. Say joined scientific expeditions through regions that remained largely undocumented by American naturalists, including Major Stephen H. Long’s expedition to the Rocky Mountains in 1819 and 1820. Travel offered the opportunity to encounter species in their habitats, but it also made clear how much of the continent’s natural life had yet to be systematically recorded.

The culmination of Say’s entomological work was American Entomology, or Descriptions of the Insects of North America, published in three volumes between 1824 and 1828. Its colored plates were based on drawings made from nature and created with the help of several artists and engravers, including the artist-naturalist Titian Ramsay Peale.

The Thomas Say collection currently features the Monarch, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and Pipevine Swallowtail. Together, they reveal how much variation can exist within a single familiar form. The Monarch is defined by its strong orange and black geometry. The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail appears lighter and more expansive, with dark stripes moving across yellow wings. The Pipevine Swallowtail is deeper in tone, its dark wings relieved by touches of blue and pale markings.

Seen together, they read almost like individual studies in color and pattern. Yet their appeal is inseparable from their original purpose. These were not imagined decorative motifs. They were careful attempts to observe, describe, and share the natural world.

When preparing the plates for print, I wanted to preserve that balance. The original character remains visible, while the color, contrast, and surrounding space have been considered for contemporary presentation. Generous borders give each butterfly room to breathe and allow the prints to feel complete without requiring custom matting.

More than two centuries after American Entomology was published, the illustrations continue to do what the finest natural-history images have always done: invite us to look more closely. They carry the curiosity of early American science, the discipline of careful observation, and the quiet beauty of forms drawn directly from nature.

Explore Thomas Say’s Butterflies in the Natural History collection.