Safari Journal — Jemima Blackburn 1859 Giraffe Zebra Camel Victorian Wildlife Lithograph Natural History

In the middle of the nineteenth century, most naturalists who wanted to draw an animal had a problem: the animal was usually dead. Jemima Blackburn understood this — and her insistence on drawing animals from life produced some of the most remarkable wildlife illustrations of the Victorian era, admired by both Charles Darwin and John Ruskin.

The front cover features Blackburn’s 1859 hand-coloured lithograph Plate IX “The Giraffe” — three giraffes and their young in various natural poses, standing, reclining, and drinking, each chosen to demonstrate the animal’s anatomy and behaviour with the “truth to nature” precision that made Blackburn’s work legendary. The back cover presents “Zebras, Dromedary, Camel” — two zebras above, and below a uniformed keeper holding a dromedary alongside a Bactrian camel, with pyramid silhouettes in the background — rendered in the hand-coloured lithographic tradition of B. Hummel, Edinburgh, 1859.

Product Details:

• Format: Hardcover journal with matte laminated full-wrap cover
• Pages: 150 lined pages (75 sheets) with perforations for easy removal
• Binding: Casewrap sewn binding that lays flat and flexes for comfortable writing
• Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.5 inches, lightweight and portable
• Weight: 0.1 kg
• Cover: Blackburn 1859 hand-coloured lithographs, giraffes (front) and zebras and camels (back), matte finish

Perfect For:

• Wildlife enthusiasts and safari travellers documenting animal observations
• Natural history admirers celebrating Victorian “truth to nature” scientific illustration
• Zoology students recording species studies and comparative anatomy notes
• Lovers of Victorian art and the Edinburgh educational illustration tradition
• Thoughtful gift seekers for animal lovers, natural history museum visitors, and art collectors
• Nature writers inspired by Jemima Blackburn’s legacy and Beatrix Potter’s roots

📖 Read the story of Jemima Blackburn and the art of drawing animals from life →