Monochrome Collection

The Rhododendron Dell, Kew Gardens
19th century photograph of The Rhododendron Dell, Kew Gardens. Originally Capability Browns " Hollow Walk" it was created in 1773 and planted with rhododendrons in 1850

Marianne North at her easel, circa 1883
Photograph of Marianne North (1830-1890), botanical artist, pictured here in Grahamstown, South Africa circa 1883. Marianne North generally travelled unaccompanied

Eleanor Morland, Gertude Cope and Alice Hutchings, Kew gardeners, 1898
Eleanor Morland, Gertude Cope and Alice Hutchings, Kew gardeners, pictured in 1898, at RBG Kew. By 1902 all the women gardeners had left to take up horticultural posts elsewhere

Matilda Smith, botanical artist
Matilda Smith, Joseph Hookers second cousin, began training as a botanical artist in 1877, at the age of 23, and remained in Kews employ for 45 years

William Barrons Tree Transplanter
William Barron (1805-91)s Tree transplantor at Kew. Barron devised a horse-drawn machine that would allow trees to be uprooted and carried distances of up to 32km without damage

Cinera cum flore, 1613
Illustration of Cinera cum flore, Cynara species, from Hortus Eystettensis, by Basilius Besler, 1613, volume 2

Cochineal beetle harvest, by Eadweard Muybridge
Dactylopius coccus, cochineal beetles being harvested from Opuntia cacti, Antigua, West Indies, for the production of carminic acid used in the carmine dye, cochineal

Seedlings of Cinchona succirubra, India, 1861
Seedlings of Cinchona succirubra, photographed on arrival in Ootacamund, southern India, 9 April 1861. Collected by Richard Spruce in Ecuador, the plants were received by WIlliam McIvor

Fructus artischochi, 1613
Illustration of Fructus artischochi, currently accepted as Cynara cardunculus, commonly known as artichoke. Artwork from Hortus Eystettensis by Basilius Besler, 1613, volume 2

William Dallimore (1871-1959), known to his colleagues as " good old Dallimore" was a well-liked and long serving member of staff at RBG Kew for more than 45 years

The Tea House, Kew Gardens, which opened in 1888, seen here before it was burned down by members of the womens suffrage movement as part of their campaign

Waterlily Pond, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, ca 1900
The waterlily pond, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, ca 1900. The pond was one of Sir William Thiselton-Dyers additions, heated by condensed steam from the local water supply

Henry Ridley
When Henry Ridley took over directorship of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, (1888-1911)there were many overgrown jungle areas and he was tasked with making a preliminary forest survey

Henry Ridley and rubber tree, Singapore
Extension of original cutting on an old Para rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis - Henry Ridley ( Rubber Ridley ) and rubber tree, tapped for latex

Stella Ross Craig, botanical artist
Stella Ross-Craig, born in 1906, received an early induction into plant life from her father, a botanist, who taught his young daughter to identify wild flowers

Richard Spruce (1817-1893) botanist and plant collector who was commissioned by William Hooker to transfer the cinchona (quinine) industry from South America to India

The Birdman, Mr Allaway, 1901
The Birdman, Mr Allaway feeding penguin outside Museum No. 1 - 1901. In 1899 three penguins were presented to Kew by Albert Linney

Women gardeners put on their clogs ready for work, World War II
Women gardeners were employed at Kew during World War II, after an interval of nearly a quarter of a century. Fourteen women were enrolled onto the staff in 1940

William Thiselton Dyer
On becoming Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, William Thiselton-Dyer appointed himself Inspector of the Kew Constabulary, a title that is still held by serving directors

Annie M Gulvin
Annie Gulvin and Alice Hutchings were the first female gardeners at Kew in 1896. Annie Gulvin (pictured here) left in 1897 to take up the post of head gardener on an estate in South Wales

Japanese Gateway, Kew Gardens c. 1910
Model of the Chokushi-Mon (Gateway of the Imperial Messenger), better known as the Japanese Gateway, gifted to Kew after its inclusion in the Japan-British exhibition held at Shepherds Bush in 1910

Kews women gardeners, November 1916, during World War I. During the war womens roles at Kew continued to grow. Back row (l-r) K W Harper, I L Lines, H A Rowan, M I Yeo, N J Watson, E M HArper

Garden visitors inspect the Demonstration Plot at RBG Kew, during WWII
Garden visitors inspect the vegetables in the Demonstration Plot, Kew Gardens, during World War II. Visitor numbers increased between 1941

Walter Fitch, Llewllyn House, Kew. Presented by his widow in 1904. Walter Fitch (1817-1892) was appointed as a botanical artist for Curtis Botanical magazine by William Hooker

Richard Spruce (1817-1893) botanist, explorer, plant collector

Vegetables growing in the Demonstration Plot, RBG Kew, WWII
Vegetables growing in the Demonstration Plot, RBG Kew, during World War II. The Model Allotment Plan initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture was designed to provide a household of five people with a

The Kew Gardens Question. This political cartoon was published in 1878 as part of the ongoing debate as to whether the public should be allowed into the gardens in the mornings, before 1pm

Kew Pagoda from the Refreshment Pavillion

Aubergine
Melanzana fructu pallido, Hortus Eystettensis, Vol. 2, 1613, Basilius Besler. Aubergine or eggplant

Women gardeners, The Rock Garden, RBG Kew, World War II
Women gardeners were again employed at Kew during World War II, after an interval of nearly a quarter of a century. Fourteen women were enrolled onto the staff in 1940

World War II, Kew Gardens: Talk at the Demonstration plot about growing your own food
Sydney Albert Pearce, Assistant Curator of the Decorative Department, gives a talk at the Demonstration Plot in front of Kew Palace, 1940

Joseph Reardon pictured during service in WWI
Joseph Reardon joined the staff as a gardener in July 1914, having trained at Tully Nurseries, Kildare. He attended Kews " Mutual improvement Society" scoring the highest numbers in

Kew Guild dinner at the Holborn Restaurant, London, 1905. The Guild was established in 1893 to bring together past and present members of staff

Frank Norman Howes, RBG Kew
Frank Norman Howes inspecting samples of wood in the Museum store. Born in South Africa, he was Economic Botanist in the Gold Coast Department of Agriculture before becoming an Assistant in Kew

Ann Webster, botanical artist, RBG Kew, 1951
Ann Webster studied at Guildford School of Art before becoming a freelance botanical artist, contributing to Curtiss Botanical magazine, Flora of Tropical East Africa and other Kew publications

John Hutchinson, Keeper of Museums at Kew from 1936 to 1948. He curated Economic Botany collections and advised british ministries and colonial governments

The Kew Fire Brigade was operated on a voluntary basis by staff from the Gardens with, from 1882, a station in the Melon Yard on the Kew Road near the southern tip of Kew Green

The Royal Botanic Gardens Constabulary, ca 1910-1915
Photograph of William Thiselton Dyer and Royal Botanic Gardens Constabulary, ca 1910-1915. William Thiselton Dyer is the white-haired officer carrying the cane in the centre

The first four Keepers of the Herbarium, Kew Gardens
The first four Keepers of the Herbarium, left to right: Professor Daniel Oliver (Keeper 1864-90), W. Botting Hemsley (1899-1908), Dr Otto Stapf (1908-22) and J. G

The arrival of the flagstaff off the Sion Vista, Kew, circa 1916
The arrival of the flagstaff off the Sion Vista, Kew: " accepting delivery", circa 1916. Gifted by the Provincial Governement of British Columbia, it was towed along the Thames by tug boat

Joey the Stanley Crane, Kew Gardens
Joey the Stanley Crane was a well-known Kew personality. In 1935 The Journal of the Kew Guild described his eventful life, which included losing a toe to a lawn mower

Aircraft crash, Kew, 1928
On the 16th August, 1928, a single seater Siskin aircraft came down in flames to the west of the Syon Vista, Kew Gardens, during an aerial display

Burnt remains of the Refreshment Pavilion, Kew Gardens, 1913
In 1913 the tea pavilion at Kew Gardens was burnt down by members of the womens suffrage movement as part of their campaign

Ernest Henry Wilson (back row, second from right) with colleagues while working as a gardener at Kew, circa 1897. Two years later, in 1899, he would begin work as a plant collector

Joseph Rock (1884-1962), a Viennese-born naturalist, author and linguist. From 1922 to 1949 he travelled through south-west China studying the flora, peoples, culture and languages of the region

Directors House and Garden, Kew. Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer and Harriet Anne Thiselton-Dyer (Nee Hoche). He became Assistant Director of Kew in 1875

Lalbagh Botanic Gardens, Bangalore, India were established in 1760 by Hyder Ali. Once they came under state control in 1856

Adrien Rene Franchet - 1834-1900
Portrait of Adrien Franchet, Bull.Soc.Bot.France (1900), French botanist, based at the Paris Museum national d Histoire Naturelle

For sale as Licensed Images

Choose your image, Select your licence and Download the media