The Resurrectionist The Lost Work of Dr. - By E. B. Hudspeth Page 0,3

am most interested in understanding. Denkel and I are preparing another article for publication this spring. I trust it should prove quite insightful.

Spencer Black began taking illustration seriously during his first year at the academy. It was not uncommon for doctors to sketch their notes and findings, but Black was excessively good at the practice, and he found work in the evenings drawing the work of other researchers. One of these was the renowned botanist and traveler Jean DeLain.

DeLain’s collection was kept at the Broadshire University Atrium, where Black would often go to study. He would continue to work for DeLain off and on for many years, illustrating hundreds of specimens for him.

Three of the plants that Spencer Black illustrated for the botanist Jean DeLain; all are well known for their distinct properties.

The English Yew bears a seed that is extremely poisonous. The tree can live for more than two thousand years; some are believed to be as old as nine thousand years. In certain spiritual circles, the yew is celebrated for its transcendence of death. Its resilience has inspired many cultures to revere it as a symbol of rebirth and everlasting life.

Myrrh is the tree from which the reddish-brown gum resin is derived; it is famous among Christians for being one of the three gifts bestowed on the infant Jesus. Myrrh is a well-known incense and is still used for its aromatic and medicinal qualities.

Lily of the Valley, extremely poisonous, has many stories and legends ascribed to it. Also known as Our Lady’s Tears, the plant is believed to have sprung from the tears of Mary while she wept at the crucifixion of her son Jesus Christ. It is believed that the plant can grant the power to envision a better world. It also symbolizes the return of happiness, or the return of Jesus Christ.

Figure 1. Actias luna-male Luna Moth

Figure 2. Papilio machaon Swallowtail Butterfly

Figure 3. Parnassius apollo Apollo (Mountain Apollo) Butterfly

Figure 4. Pomponia imperatoria Empress Cicada

I am making notable improvements in my illustrations. What a reprieve from words and lectures. I can study, think, and relax more while taking care to lavish in the solitude of drawing.

Spencer Black also wrote about many of the insects and plants that he studied. He was particularly interested in insects that underwent a metamorphosis. The process of transformation fascinated the young scientist, and he often sketched the cicada and made regular mention of it in his journals and letters.

November 22, 1869

In the summer, when the cicadas emerge from the ground, they transform into a winged insect, sing their song, mate, lay eggs, and soon die. The pupae hatch from their eggs in a tree then fall to the ground and burrow deep into the earth, where they live for more than a decade.

Such evanescence; to emerge from the ground after such a long time and then transform, gaining wings. They are born once again from the womb of their own body, which is abandoned as an empty shell, and then they leave the world. This type of metamorphosis (though not as dramatic as that of the butterfly or moth, in a superficial context) is, in my esteem, one of the more significant. After such a long time in darkness, we can live for only a short while.

* * *

December 1, 1869

I have become interested in a different assignment given to me by Professor Jean DeLain. He needs several illustrations of small and curious insects illustrated for a book he is compiling; the insects gathered are all dead, carefully packed and pinned. They have arrived from many locations of the world: Guinea, the Malaysian islands, Africa and Asia. It is exciting to study the smallest differences in their particular designs. There is little separation between man and insect, save the marvels solely unique to their respective functions in nature.

Figure 1. The pupa stage, freshly emerged from the ground.

Figure 2. The insect emerges from its shell, reborn. It waits to gain its strength.

Figure 3. Now fully developed, the cicada can fly away, sing its song, mate, and the cycle can repeat.

1870

WARD C

The sustainable body of scientific evidence is derived

from the contractions made by the objective observer,

not the parroting of the learned scholar.

—Dr. Spencer Black

By the end of his second year at the academy, Spencer was devoting all his time to the mysteries of the human body. He attended as many dissections as possible, whether they were hosted by the academy or by neighboring institutions. It’s highly likely that he also performed dissections of his