Elsie Louise Shaw
American naturalist, botanical and scientific illustrator
About Elsie Louise Shaw
Lived 1865 – 1940 (aged 74–75). Elsie Louise Shaw was an American botanical illustrator, scientific illustrator, naturalist and botanical collector.
Elsie Louise Shaw was a naturalist and botanical artist many of whose watercolors are now in the collection of the Gray Herbarium at Harvard University.
Biography
As an illustrator, Shaw provided 48 full-page color plates for Frances Theodora Parsons' book How to Know the Wild Flowers (1893), which was the first field guide to North American wildflowers. It was something of a sensation: the first printing sold out in five days, and it was praised by Theodore Roosevelt and Rudyard Kipling, among others.
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Important facts
People in Elsie Louise Shaw's life
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Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Elsie Louise Shaw?
American naturalist, botanical and scientific illustrator (1862-1940)
When was Elsie Louise Shaw born?
Elsie Louise Shaw was born in 1865 in Rockland.
When did Elsie Louise Shaw die?
Elsie Louise Shaw died on 24 October 1940.
What was Elsie Louise Shaw's occupation?
Elsie Louise Shaw was a botanical illustrator, scientific illustrator, naturalist and botanical collector.
What nationality was Elsie Louise Shaw?
Elsie Louise Shaw was American.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Elsie Louise Shaw
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Elsie Louise Shaw. https://biography.guide/elsie-louise-shaw/
MLA: "Elsie Louise Shaw." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/elsie-louise-shaw/.
Chicago: "Elsie Louise Shaw." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/elsie-louise-shaw/.
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