Central to the Archives collection is the correspondence of the Regius Keepers or Directors of the organisation with the letters of John Hutton Balfour, Isaac Bayley Balfour, William Wright Smith, Harold Fletcher, David Ingram and Douglas Henderson taking us through much of the last two centuries.

We also collect the papers of people and societies associated with RBGE, and whose work has done much to enhance what we do. Our collaboration with the plant collector George Forrest, who undertook seven expeditions to Yunnan province in southwest China between 1904 and 1932, and whose papers we hold has given us the impetus and reason to collect the papers of other explorers of the Sino-Himalaya such as Reginald Farrer, William Purdom, Frank Ludlow, George Sherriff, Roland Edgar Cooper (also a member of RBGE staff) and Joseph Rock, who bequeathed his diaries and photographs to us in 1962. Although collected from RBGE’s perspective, these collections tell us much about life and plants in China and its surrounding regions at the beginning of the 20th century.

We hold the papers of a number of clubs and societies, including the Botanical Society of Scotland, the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society, the Scottish Rock Garden Club and the Scottish Alpine Botanical Club. We also have our own RBGE Guild papers, the journal of which holds much information of interest to RBGE historians and genealogists.

The RBGE Archives also holds a significant number of photographs showing RBGE and its plants over the last century, the lives of its staff and the travels of the plant collectors.

Donating to the Archives

The RBGE Archives collects materials that relate to RBGE and its activities, and considers materials that relate to the study, practice and discussion of botany and horticulture in Scotland. If you have a collection you think we may be interested in, please contact us using the form with Department: Library and Archives.

RBGE Archive Collecting Policy

Central to the Archives collection is the correspondence of the Regius Keepers or Directors of the organisation with the letters of John Hutton Balfour, Isaac Bayley Balfour, William Wright Smith, Harold Fletcher, David Ingram and Douglas Henderson taking us through much of the last two centuries.

We also collect the papers of people and societies associated with RBGE, and whose work has done much to enhance what we do. Our collaboration with the plant collector George Forrest, who undertook seven expeditions to Yunnan province in southwest China between 1904 and 1932, and whose papers we hold has given us the impetus and reason to collect the papers of other explorers of the Sino-Himalaya such as Reginald Farrer, William Purdom, Frank Ludlow, George Sherriff, Roland Edgar Cooper (also a member of RBGE staff) and Joseph Rock, who bequeathed his diaries and photographs to us in 1962. Although collected from RBGE’s perspective, these collections tell us much about life and plants in China and its surrounding regions at the beginning of the 20th century.

We hold the papers of a number of clubs and societies, including the Botanical Society of Scotland, the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society, the Scottish Rock Garden Club and the Scottish Alpine Botanical Club. We also have our own RBGE Guild papers, the journal of which holds much information of interest to RBGE historians and genealogists.

The RBGE Archives also holds a significant number of photographs showing RBGE and its plants over the last century, the lives of its staff and the travels of the plant collectors.

Donating to the Archives

The RBGE Archives collects materials that relate to RBGE and its activities, and considers materials that relate to the study, practice and discussion of botany and horticulture in Scotland. If you have a collection you think we may be interested in, please contact us using the form with Department: Library and Archives.

RBGE Archive Collecting Policy