

Maria Sibylla Merian -- Artist, Scientist, and Adventurer
Every year in March, the International Antiquarian Book Fair comes to the Park Avenue Armory in New York City, with over 200 American and international dealers of rare and first edition books, maps, manuscripts, illustrations, photography, autographs, Americana, and ephemera. A few years ago, I became acquainted with the illustrations of Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717). Trained as an artist by her stepfather in Nuremberg, Germany, she was fascinated by butterflies and moths