Used with
permission of Maiken Naylor, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA,
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/sel/exhibits/stamps
Carolus Linnaeus (Carl
von Linne, 1707-1778) had a medical
education but his inclination
lay in identifying and classifying the flora and fauna of his
native Sweden and the increasingly great numbers of foreign specimens
brought to his attention. One of the great 18th century naturalists,
he devised a binomial system of taxonomy that has endured to
this day. Earlier naturalists had felt free to name specimens
as they thought best described them. But besides assigning a
species (for the specific organism) and a genus (for a group
of similar organisms) Linne assigned each organism to a hierarchy
of higher orders, classes, and kingdoms, based on ever more general
shared physiological properties. Throughout his life he made
lengthy collecting trips and walking tours in Sweden and Lapland,
collecting plants and animals. He wrote accounts of these travels,
which are the basis for the remarkable stamp booklet at the right.
Descriptive phrases from his writings are inside the booklet
cover. The sweep of the highlands, the diverse shorebird population,
the high sandstone cliffs mentioned in his journals here come
to life for the philatelist. Bedecked in furs, the young Linne
posed in native Lapp costume for an artist after his first journey
to Lapland. The twin flower, linnaea borealis, was Linne's favorite
flower (red stamp).