The website Seeing Is Believing: 700 Years of Scientific and Medical Illustration complements an exhibition of the same name on view from October 23, 1999 to February 19, 2000 at the Library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library.

Earlier exhibitions at The New York Public Library, such as Splendid Plumage: Bird Illustrations, 1550—1900; Kingdoms of Land, Sea, and Sky: 400 Years of Animal Illustration; Nature's Mirror: 200 Years of Botanical Illustration;and P. J. Redouté, the Rembrandt of Roses,have featured the Library's wide-ranging collections in the areas of illustrated bird, plant, and animal books. However, Seeing Is Believing is the first major exhibition to showcase the Library's collections in science and medicine.

Support for Seeing Is Believing and The New York Public Library's Exhibitions Program has been provided by Pinewood Foundation. This exhibition has also been made possible by funding from The Pfizer Foundation, Inc. Additional support has been provided by the New York Council for the Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of State Humanities Month, and the Bertha and Isaac Liberman Foundation in memory of Ruth and Seymour Klein.

The exhibition Seeing Is Believing: 700 Years of Scientific and Medical Illustration was co-curated by Jennifer B. Lee, Associate Curator of Rare Books, and Miriam Mandelbaum, Rare Books Librarian. Ms. Lee is now Librarian for Public Services and Programs, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University.

Seeing Is Believing: 700 Years of Scientific and Medical Illustration, an 88-page companion to the exhibition, is available in The Library Shop. Members of the Library receive a ten percent discount. For information on current and upcoming exhibitions, programs, and services of The New York Public Library, visit the Library's Events and Exhibitions page.