The renowned LuEsther T. Mertz Library of The New York Botanical Garden counts among its holdings many of the most beautiful and pioneering botanical and horticultural works ever created. More than eight centuries of knowledge, from the twelfth century to the present, are represented in the library'[...]

From her humble beginnings as the daughter of a countryside blacksmith, Emy Lyon went on to claim the undying love of naval hero Admiral Nelson, England's most famous native son. She served as model and muse to eighteenth-century Europe's most renowned artists, and consorted with kings and queens at[...]

Celebrated for her beauty and notorious for her passions, Pauline Bonaparte Borghese was a fascinating woman. Considered by many to be the most beautiful woman in Europe at the turn of the nineteenth century, she scandalised the continent with the boldness of her love affairs, her opulent wardrobe a[...]