Lydia Bailey
Living History Reenactments
Living History presentations that bring to life the stories of famous women explorers and natural scientists. First-person character reenactments including demos of each characters “tools of the trade”, followed by educational activities including how to make expedition supplies, how to draft and paint traditional parchment maps, bookbinding techniques for traditional atlases and journey books, and more.
Character presentations include:
Lydia Bailey—early Colonial map and atlas printer, noted for her quality maps, atlases, and expeditions reports from the expanding American frontier
Anna Botsford Comstock -- the first woman to become a professor at Cornell University, after completing
a degree as one of the first women science students at Cornell University. She was a keen entomologist, botanist, and scientific illustrator who explored natural habitats from New York to Virginia, then California to Europe and beyond. She also developed and pioneered the first Nature Study and outdoor education curricula for k-12 classroom instruction and teacher training.
Maria Sibylla Merian—German naturalist and book publisher from the late 1600’s, was the first woman
to become a ship’s naturalist on a Dutch expedition to the Caribbean and Surinam, well known for her pioneering studies of insect life cycles
Grace O'Malley-- an Elizabethan-era sea captain and mapmaker from Connemara, who took up piracy
on the Irish seas to aid resistance against British invasion and cartographic espionage.
Florence Bramhall—Minnesota conservationist of the early 20th century, champion for the creation of
parks and protection of Minnesota forests and the watersheds of the Mississippi River, friend and advisor
to Teddy Roosevelt, and advocate for outdoor recreation and preservation of natural resources
Isabella Bird--Scottish explorer of North America, Asia and the Middle east, wand who became the first woman member of the Royal British Geographic Society
Beatrix Potter--British botanist, conservationist and scientific illustrator, first to discover and document
moss and fungi symbiosis in lichens, activist for the establishment of British nature preserves and
National Parks, and who funded her scientific research and conservation work by authoring and
illustrating bunny books for kids.
Elsa Wagner -- textile artist of Nova Scotia creating iconic hooked rugs with landscape scenes and floral designs, working not only as a master rugmaker but also as a dyer knowledgeable about growing and foraging for native dye plants that she used for the wool in her textile "paintings"
Ovsanna the Silkworker --Artisan of Armenia, one of generations living and working along the west
end of the Silk Road as weavers, dyers, and silk painters, masters at design, floral illustration, and use of plants for natural dyes, and experts in sericulture, the raising of silkworms and the mulberry groves on which they graze.
Madame Pangea—fictional head teacher of geography and conservation at Hogworts School of Wizardry, creator of the Atlas of World Dragons and more
Annie Peck—American explorer and mountaineer, the first person to climb and chart the elevations of the high peaks in the Andes Mountains
Giovanna Garzoni-- artist and naturalist from Tuscany, and a contemporary of Galileo, Giovanna specialized in scientific illustration and was well known for her detailed studies of fruits, flowers, birds, and insects. She was also an expert paint maker with a wealth of knowledge about the geology of traditional pigments.
Freydís Eiríksdóttir--Viking explorer, daughter of Erik the Red and sister of Leif Eriksson, who led her own expedition to explore Vinland, Labrador and Newfoundland in the 10th century.
Mary Kingsley—Victorian era British ichthyologist who was the first to explore and map several major central African watersheds
In development:
Orra White Hitchcock --Field naturalist, scientific illustrator and cartographer who created large
classroom maps and earth science charts painted on rolls of linen that became treasured teaching aids at Amherst College
Frances Densmore--ethnologist, folk taxonomist and ethnobotanist for the Smithsonian, especially known
for her work with the Minnesota Ojibwe in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Author of "Strength of the Earth: The Classic Guide to Ojibwe Uses of Native Plants"
Ottilie v. Rabenau -- prolific nature journaller, botanist and illustrator who supported herself as a craftswoman, translating her knowledge of plants into intricate designs in woodworking and porcelain painting, for which she won awards at the Chicago World's Fair