In 1826 the corvette Séniavine left St Petersburg on a four year voyage around the world, now regarded as one of the great scientific expeditions of the 19th century. In the course of this voyage, artist and scientist Alexandro Postels, painted over 750 watercolours. His images of the giant kelps of the North Pacific were the first ever recorded and on his return to St Petersburg formed the basis of the monumental work Illustrationes Algarum (1840) written with F. Ruprecht.
Postel’s original watercolours are held by the Cadbury Research Library. Join artist Anne Parouty, and Martin Killeen, Rare Books Librarian, for a chance to view this beautiful and important work of marine science first hand, while hearing the story of how it found its way to Birmingham.
Presented by Cadbury Research Library.
