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James Sowerby. He was an artist and scientist during the Enlightenment. Early Life. He was born in 1757 into the world of lapidary. He was educated at the schools and later worked for William Curtis. One of his early works was a book of beautiful flowers that would be of interest to horticulturists

Later life. He produced English Botany of some 36 volumes with 2500 illustrations. For this work he paid James Edward Smith, President of the Linnean Society, to write the short text for each plate.

Mineralogical work. In 1814 he produced his British Mineralogy Later he produced his Exotic Mineralogy which featured the meteorite from which he made a sword for the Tsar of Russia. later he was helped by his sons to publish Mineral Conchology which was favourably reviewed:

His exotic mineralogy was to ensure a better undersanding of minerals generally

James Sowerby was born in Lambeth, London, his parents were named John and Arabella but his father died when he was young. Having to help support the family home he painted pictures of relatives, friends and others. He was employed by William Curtis to help draw and engrave pictures of flowers for his new publication Flora Londinensis Sowerby studied art at the Royal Academy and took an apprenticeship with Richard Wright. He married Anne Brettingham De Carle and they were to have three sons: James De Carle Sowerby (1787–1871), George Brettingham Sowerby I (1788–1854) and Charles Edward Sowerby (1795–1842), the Sowerby family of naturalists. His sons and theirs were to contribute and continue the enormous volumes he was to begin and the Sowerby name was to remain associated with illustration of natural history.