Finished drawings are lauded in histories of botanical art, preparatory sketches often get forgotten. We have brought these vivid, spontaneous records gloriously back into the light, in Botanical Sketchbooks as we delved into archives and attics looking for sketchbooks, field notes, notes, personal journals, works on vellum, herbarium sheets and letters and even a drawing on the back of an envelope. Which famous botanist made that one? What stories can these sketches reveal about their creators and the natural world?

We are delighted to be talking about the making of botanical sketches and Botanical Sketchbooks @ilklitfest as part of their Ways of Seeing thread.