The world of insects has been fascinating scientists for years, and books from many decades ago hold a lot of valuable information about them. Librarian Sarah Finn enjoys exploring the natural world through these books and sharing beautiful illustrations she found inside on social media.
Sarah Finn works as the archival projects librarian in the special collections department at Milwaukee Public Library. She initially started working there as a clerk in 2011, and being around historical materials all day long inspired her to go back to school and become a librarian full-time.
Many books went through her hands as the years went by, and she became particularly interested in natural history books.
“Most of my collection is from the 19th century and it is interesting to track the changes in illustration styles and book-making technologies throughout that period. I especially love books with hand-colored plates or beautiful publishers’ bindings,” she told Fine Books Magazine.
Finn encountered so many beautiful animal illustrations in these books that she couldn’t resist sharing them with the world, and many of them depict butterflies, moths, and other insects. She’s sharing them with over 120,000 people on the Instagram account Romance of Books, and she was delighted to see that there is a real interest in book history from the general public.
