History Collection

Choose from 251 items in our History Collection

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

Tableau Physique des Andes et Pays voisins - Physical Tableau of the Andes and Neighboring Countries
This illustration was based on Alexander von Humboldts famous Naturgemälde (nature painting) of 1807, an early infographic that showed variation in the vegetation of the Andes

An exact plan of the Royal Palace Gardens and Park at Richmond, 1754
Engraving representing An exact plan of of the Royal Palace Gardens and Park at Richmond with Sion House on the opposite side o the River Thames

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

Marianne North by Julia Margaret Cameron
The artist Marianne North photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron, circa 1877, Ceylon

Carl von Linnaeus, Swedish botanist and taxonomist
Swedish botanist and taxonomist Carl von Linnaeus (Carolus von Linnaeus, later Carl von Linne) 1707-1778. Artist: Mrs Anderson (fl. 1858)

The Wardian case, ca 1912-1959
Image of a horticulturalist packing plants into a Wardian Case ready for transportation. The Wardian case was a portable airtight greenhouse developed by Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward to protect live plant

506. Dragon Tree at Orotava, Teneriffe
This is the largest descendent of the famous tree of which a short history is given under 511

Barrons Tree Transplanter
A 19th century horse drawn machine used to move trees up to 20m

Wardian case in use
The Wardian case was used to protect and transport plants. It was invented by Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward (1791-1868)

511. Dragon Tree in the Garden of Mr. Smith, Teneriffe
The Dragon Tree, or more correctly the Dragons Blood Tree (Dracaena Draco, L.), is a native of Teneriffe, and is one of the most celebrated trees in the annals of natural history

planting bulbs on the Broadwalk

Liberian coffee in Ceylon (Plate I), 1878
Illustration depicting a man standing with a shrub of Coffea liberica, and a withered specimen of Coffea arabica infected with Hemileia vastatrix

Portrait of George Bentham (1800 -1884)
George Bentham (1800-1884), CMG, LLD, FRS, PLS (copy of a portrait by Lowes Cato Dickinson) by Emily Mary Merrick (attributed to) Portrait of George Bentham (1800-1884)

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

Francis Bauer 1758 - 1840, Botanical Illustrator
Portrait of Francis Bauer (1758-1840), F.R.S. F.L.S, oil on canvas, ca. early 19th century. Unknown artist. 920 mm x 700 mm

The Palm House
Archival photograph of the Palm House

The Great Pagoda, (exterior)
Sir William Chambers first published this design of the Pagoda in 1763 in his Plans, elevations, sections, and perspective views of the gardens and buildings at Kew in Surry

A View of the Wilderness with the Alhambra, the Pagoda and the
Illustration from William Chambers 1763 publication, Plans, elevations, sections, and perspective views of the gardens and buildings at Kew in Surry. Engraving on paper

Thomas Drummond A. L. S. (1793-1835)
Portrait of Thomas Drummond (1793-1835), coloured chalk on paper, by Daniel Macnee (1806-1882). Drummond was born in Angus c. 1793. He was the first Curator of Belfast Botanic Garden, 1828-31

Group portrait showing Women Gardeners
Photograph showing eight gardening staff of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, including the first two women gardeners, in work uniform. Photograph taken in the Rock Garden, c.1898

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

Marianne North by Julia Margaret Cameron, 1800s
Photographic portrait of Marianne North by Julia Margaret Cameron, 1800s

Tableau physique des Andes et pays voisins - Physical Tableau of the Andes and Neighboring Countries
" Physical Tableau of the Andes and Neighboring Countries (Tableau physique des Andes et pays voisins), " in Alexander von Humboldt and Aim

Carl von Linnaeus, Swedish botanist and taxonomist
Line and stipple engraving of Carl Linnaeus by Charles Edward Wagstaff, after Magnus Hallman Stipple.Linnaeus wears the Swedish Order of the Polar Star

Robert Fortune (1812-1880) born in Berwickshire, Scotland, was a botanist and plant-hunter best known for smuggling tea plants out of China at the behest of the East India Company

The Temperate House- plan no 9
Plan of the Temperate House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Plan of the Palm House, 1860
Plan of the Palm House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1860

Portrait of William Townsend Aiton (1766 - 1849)
Lithograph portrait of William Townsend Aiton

From top of Choonjerma Pass. 15, 000ft looking West over Nepal, snows, 1848
Pencil sketch from top of Choonjerma Pass [Mirgin La Pass]. 15, 000ft looking West over Nepal. Illustrated by Joseph Dalton Hooker, 1848

Sea of mist from 16, 000ft elevation, from Choonjerma Pass, 1854
Watercolour of a Sea of mist from 16, 000ft elevation from Choonjerma Pass [Mirgin La Pass] by Walter Hood Fitch, 1854

24, 000ft Junnoo from Choonjerma Pass, 16, 000ft. East Nepal, 1854
Watercolour sketch of Junnoo [Kumbhakarna] from Choonjerma Pass [Mirgin La Pass] by Walter Hood Fitch, 1854

The Cinchona Region of South America, 1862
The shaded area indicates the native distribution of cinchona trees in the Andes. From Peruvian Bark: A Popular Account of the Introduction of Chinchona Cultivation into British India, 1860-1880

Lycaste aromatica, 1827
Illustration of Lycaste aromatica by Robert Kaye Greville and engraved by Joseph Swan. Artwork from Exotic flora: containing figures and descriptions of new

William Andrews Nesfields plan of the Broadwalk at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 12th May 1845

William Aiton (1731-1793)
Portrait of William Aiton (1731-1793), holding a plant in his right hand (species of Aitonia), and a magnifying glass in his left

Elizabeth Aiton (c. 1740-1826)
Portrait of Elizabeth Aiton (c.1740-1826), wife of William Aiton (1731-1793)

Portrait of William Aiton (1731-1793), holding a plant (Aitonia) in his right hand, and a hand lens in his left

The Temperate House - plan no 30
Plan of the Temperate House showing octagons details

The Temperate House- plan no 22
Plan of The Temperate House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, showing the section through the lower cornice and gutter

The Temperate House, plan no 1
Plan showing the Temperate House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Temperate House- plan no 4
Plan of the Temperate House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Temperate House- plan no 5
Plan of the Temperate House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

New wing to Temperate House- plan no 5
Plan showing new wing to the Temperate House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Temperate House- plan no 8
Plan of the Temperate House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Temperate House- plan no 8A
Plan of the Temperate House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Temperate House, plan no 10
The Temperate House- elevation showing principal entrances

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