Choose from 89 items in our Images Dated 12th February 2015 Collection
William Barrons Tree TransplanterWilliam 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
Matilda Smith, botanical artistMatilda 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
Eleanor Morland, Gertude Cope and Alice Hutchings, Kew gardeners, 1898Eleanor 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
William Thiselton DyerOn 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
Cochineal beetle harvest, by Eadweard MuybridgeDactylopius coccus, cochineal beetles being harvested from Opuntia cacti, Antigua, West Indies, for the production of carminic acid used in the carmine dye, cochineal
Henry RidleyWhen 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
Seedlings of Cinchona succirubra, India, 1861Seedlings 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
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 1900The 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
The Rhododendron Dell, Kew Gardens19th century photograph of The Rhododendron Dell, Kew Gardens. Originally Capability Browns " Hollow Walk" it was created in 1773 and planted with rhododendrons in 1850
The Birdman, Mr Allaway, 1901The 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 IIWomen 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
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
Annie M GulvinAnnie 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. 1910Model 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
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
Garden visitors inspect the Demonstration Plot at RBG Kew, during WWIIGarden 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
Vegetables growing in the Demonstration Plot, RBG Kew, WWIIVegetables 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
Women gardeners, The Rock Garden, RBG Kew, World War IIWomen 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 foodSydney 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 WWIJoseph 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 KewFrank 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
Stella Ross Craig, botanical artistStella 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
Ann Webster, botanical artist, RBG Kew, 1951Ann 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 1910-1915Photograph 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 GardensThe 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
George Appleby joined Kew as a pony-boy (a stable hand), at the age of 14 in April 1931, earning 18 shillings a week. After three years he was promoted to the post of junior Carter
The arrival of the flagstaff off the Sion Vista, Kew, circa 1916The 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 GardensJoey 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, 1928On 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, 1913In 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
Female gardener working in the orchid house, during World War IIFemale gardener working in the orchid house, RBG Kew, during World War II
Botanist Mary Ruth Fussel Jackson Taylor, RBG Kew, 1939Botanist Mary Ruth Fussel Jackson Taylor, working in the Herbarium, RBG Kew, 1939
Women gardeners, RBG Kew, World War IIWomen 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
Potato tuber slices being dried in trays of peat, WWIISupplies of seed potatoes were insufficient to demand during WWII, so Wiliam Campbell, Curator of Kew Gardens devised a method of growing potatoes using slices from the tuber instead
Vegetables cultivated on Kew Green, 1917Vegetables cultivated in allotments on Kew Green to combat food shortages, 1917, during World War I
Charles Metcalf became Keeper of the Jodrell Laboratory in 1930. Here, he is identifying a timber specimen
Dr R. Melville, scientist at Kew, 1940 sDr R. Melville, scientist at Kew, working under Dr Hutchinson, Keeper of Museums, during the 1940 s, is seen here scraping pollen onto glass from a South African marigold
Jodrell Laboratory staff, 1963, with Charles Metcalf (Keeper of the Jodrell laboratory) centre
William Thiselton Dyer, Director of Kew for thirty years from 1875
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