Flowering of Ecology

Kay Etheridge Ph.D. (1986), University of Florida, is a Professor of Biology at Gettysburg College. She has published articles and book chapters on physiological ecology and on the influence of images in the history of biology.

"It is hard to choose between superlatives with which to characterize this modestly sized but highly significant volume. Focusing on one of best-known names in the history of natural history at the turn of the eighteenth century, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717), it demonstrates that even the esteem in which she has been held fails to recognize the extent of her originality."- Arthur MacGregor, Archives of Natural History, July 2022, Vol. 49, No. 1: p. 224"Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students and faculty. General readers."- A. L. Jacobsen, California State University, Bakersfield, June 2022, issue of CHOICE"[...] after years of distortion, in the past few decades, her real contributions to entomology have started to come into view. The Flowering of Ecology: Maria Sibylla Merian’s Caterpillar Book by Kay Etheridge, with translations by Michael Ritterson, is a significant contribution to this effort."- Kim Todd, University of Minnesota, in: EMW, Spring 2022, Vol. 16, No. 2: pp. 351-53.“[…] scholars tend to focus on Merian’s gender and her Surinam adventure (1699-1701), while her early works, especially Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung und sonderbare Blumennahrung (1679 and 1638), were long overlooked, largely because they were published in German. Nevertheless, the Caterpillar Book is a valuable source of information about Merian’s methods of field and laboratory work.”- Jana Černá, University of West Bohemia, in: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 75 , No. 3 , Fall 2022 , pp. 1012-14."Mit ihrer Edition, der (in Kooperation mit dem Germanisten Michael Ritterson erstellten) ersten vollständigen englischen Übersetzung des „Raupenbuchs“ und ihrer inhaltlichen Auseinandersetzung mit dessen Texten und Bildern stellt die Biologiehistorikerin Kay Etheridge Merians Pionierwerk erstmals umfassend im Kontext der Naturgeschichte da."- Anja Grebe, Donau-Universität Krems, in: H-Soz-Kult, published on 01.03.2022

• ForewordBrian OgilviePrefaceAcknowledgmentsList of Illustrationspart 1: The Flowering of Ecology1 Before the TransformationIntroduction Art and Science IntertwinedDrawings/ManuscriptsStill Life PaintingFinding God in NatureNatural History of Insects in Printed WorksPublishing Illustrated Natural History BooksStudies of Metamorphosis2 A Life InvestigatedGrowing up in Frankfurt am MainEarly Fascination with InsectsMarriage and the Move to NurembergThe Flower BooksBeginnings of the Raupen BooksMerian’s Motivations3 Described and Painted from LifeFieldwork: The Basis of Merian’s Empirical StudiesLaboratory WorkMerian’s Study JournalMerian’s Other Sources of InformationIllustrating the Raupen BookComposing the ImagesMaking the PlatesMerian’s CounterproofsComposing the Text of Her BookFinancing, Printing and Marketing the Raupen Book4 For the Benefit of NaturalistsThe Rupsen BooksThe Last Caterpillar BookLater Editions and Their Lasting EffectsRecognition and Reception by Near ContemporariesMerian’s Influence on Natural HistoryMerian’s Reputation as a Naturalistpart 2: Plates, Translation and CommentaryMaria Sibylla Merian’s Caterpillar BookAppendix: Translation of Selected Entries from Maria Sibylla Merian’s Study JournalBibliographyIndex