George Shaw was a British Naturalist born in 1751. His father, a reverend, administered his early education and Shaw went on to earn a B.A. and M.A. at Magdalen College, Oxford. Shaw was ordained deacon, but left the church to pursue his interests in natural history. Leaving Oxford for a short time to study medicine at Edinburgh, Shaw returned to Oxford where he became a deputy lecturer in botany, and eventually earned his M.B. and M.D.

Shaw was a recipient of specimens from colonized Australia and published his descriptions of many Australian animals in Zoology of New Holland (1794). Shaw wrote a number of other publications, including The Naturalist’s Miscellany (1789-1813), in which the first scientific description of the platypus appeared. The Naturalist’s Miscellany totals in 24 volumes.

Shaw was a founding member of the Linnean Society of London and a fellow of the Royal Society. He held a position in the natural history section of the British Museum from 1791 until his death in 1813.

Frederick Polydore Nodder was a botanical artist, believed to have been born in 1773. Nodder provided colored engravings for George Shaw’s The Naturalists’ Miscellany (1789-1813), although it is believed Nodder’s wife and son, Richard (fl. 1793-1820), also contributed illustrations. Nodder contributed to other works such as Joseph Banks’ Florilegium and Thomas Martyn’s Flora rustica (1792) and was the Botanical Artist to Queen Charlotte.