Before I launch in - a quick apology for the 7 month hiatus on these - life happens.

Helana & Harriet Scott were sisters from Sydney Australia.  They were the daughters of an entomologist - which is how they started out illustrating.  Moving from Sydney to the Hunter regions they completed the drawings for their fathers book - Lepidoptera (I know a very common theme, please blame the patriarchy) 

Badass Reasons That They Should Be Remembered: 

1. They were Australia’s first professional female illustrators - designing Australia’s first Christmas cards in 1879.  They also got commissions from numerous scientific groups in Sydney during their life

2. Not content with just drawing the specimens they went out into the field and collected bugs themselves.  And let me tell you the Aussie bush is not one to be fucked with - there are all sorts of deadly things waiting to pounce out there.  They document the troubles that they faced in the bush - such determining the exact food source of insects

3. By 1849 they had already amassed around 500 reference drawings.  My hands are sore from just thinkings about it. Their drawing are so technically excellent that they are still used today by scientists 

4. They knew the sexist bullshit they would be up against in the world of professional science in the 1800s.  In a letter to a close friend Harriet says the below which still rings true in so many ways today.

   “In some way or other and if I were only a man I might do it, but as I am a woman I can’t try, for I hold it wrong for women to hunt after notoriety … clearly I ought to have been Harry Scott instead of Hattie Scott.”