No. 47 of 248 · The Natural History Series
Banana and Butterflies
Pictures by Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian's blue butterflies hover over a banana plant, with a caterpillar and a lizard at home on the stalk. Merian sold her own paintings to pay for a voyage to Suriname at the age of 52, where she drew insects alongside the plants they feed on. For someone who loves nature and a good adventure.
Add four of your own photos and your own words; we print the card in the US and post it for you.
On the back
From the great natural-history books of the 1700s to the 1900s / Banana and Butterflies / Musa / Merian, born in Frankfurt in 1647, sold 255 of her own paintings to pay for her two years in Suriname. She was 52 when she sailed in 1699. / Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, 1705 / Maria Sibylla Merian sailed to Suriname at 52 to draw insects with the plants they feed on.
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