Newspaper and paper wrappers from an unmounted collection from the herbarium of Dr. Hugh Francis Clarke Cleghorn.
A box of unmounted specimens from Cleghorn's herbarium and annotated as from ‘Cumbaukum Droog’ [Kambakkam Durgam] was discovered in the basement longstore at RBGE in 2025. It was assessed by Henry Noltie; the specimens were mounted and added to the herbarium collection, and the newspapers and folders used by Cleghorn to wrap his collection were seen as significant enough to be added to the Archive. Henry described the process in a Botanics Story: (right click, open link in new tab) https://stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/40144
The Collection includes manuscript lists relating to the Cumbaukan flora and a journal article cutting, made by Cleghorn, from the 1835 volume of the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society: an article titled an ‘Account of the Ragery Hills, near Madras’ by a Colonel Monteith.
The specimens were contained in newspaper flimsies dating between 1853 and 1859, most of which were placed in covers made of Indian ‘country’ paper annotated with the numbers and names of 20 plant families. Although the specimens were collected in December 1853, the majority of the newspapers date from 1858/9, presumably when Cleghorn undertook some herbarium curation. They are trimmed to uniform size, c 27 x 44 cm – some more or less whole sheets folded, others cut in half (when the titles are often missing).
The newspapers are of considerable interest, assuming that they were subscribed to by Cleghorn, rather than bought as scrap paper. Two certainly were his as they are inscribed with his name, title, and address while on tour as Conservator of Forests in Salem and Ooty. These tell us something about his reading habits and suggest a great thirst for news both Indian and from Britain. Also used was also a pamphlet advertising a Madras ‘Periodical Horse Mart’ revealing a previously unknown, though unsurprising, interest in horse flesh; and proof that he subscribed to the Gardeners’ Chronicle, suspected but previously unproven. Of the Indian newspapers was one published in Bangalore (The Bangalore Herald) and seven in Madras (Madras Circulator, The Commercial Gazette, United Service Gazette, The Athenaeum, The Madras Times, The Madras Spectator and the official government Fort St George Gazette). Of those published in Britain the largest number of sheets are from The Overland Mail, with smaller numbers from four others (The Indian News, The Morning Herald, The Record and The Examiner). There is also a single half-sheet from an unidentified Fife newspaper to show that he kept up with news from Scotland.
The articles in the papers dating from 1858/9 are of particular interest, with many articles discussing the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny. Interesting though the ‘news’ items are, the papers are equally intriguing for the advertisements and aspects of social history revealed. described here are only a few items that were noticed while cataloguing the plants: a meeting of the Madras Photographic Society attended by Sir Walter Elliot (6 April 1858); the opening of the organ by William Hill in St George’s Cathedral (13 September 1858); stained glass fanlights for the cathedral designed by Archibald Cole, Professor Fine Arts in the Madras School of Industrial Art, made by Nathaniel Wood Lavers of London (later Lavers, Barraud & Westlake) (21 January 1859); an advertisement by J. Deschamps offering three pianos by Erard (1 mahogany grand of 7 octaves; 1 mahogany grand square of 6¾ octaves; 1 rosewood cottage of 6¾ octaves) and 1 mahogany grand square by Broadwood (May 1854); J.J. Fonceca & Co offering ‘Likenesses either in Oil, Water Colors, or Crayon … Landscape and Cattle Drawings … charges so regulated with a view to place their services within reach of all (21 January 1859); an auction by Oakes, Partridge and Co. offered a by then very old fashioned ‘square piano by T. Tomkison, in good order’ (6 July 1853).

1 Jenner's shoe box containing:

• 11 jotters of pressed wildflowers made when Catherine was 14 years old in 1927/28 for the Girls' Guildry (now the Girls' Brigade) Edinburgh 17th Coy.
• list of the flowers in the 11 jotters
• 2 letters:
  --7th September 1945, Roland Edgar Cooper to Miss C.F. Glen - thank you for sending sprays of heather - RBGE hoping to propagate and name them - shorthand writing on the reverse, and the envelope has been kept.
  --6th September 1948, Roland Edgar Cooper to Miss Glen acknowledging receipt of her 'very fine contribution ' of heather on the 31st August 1948.
• modern photograph showing Catherine Glen in old age.

One file of letters from G.S. Puri, Regional botanist, Botanical Survey of India, Wester Circle, Poona to H.R. Fletcher at RBGE describing the development of the Poona herbarium, museum and experimental garden in around 1958. There is discussion of a seed exchange plus a short article on the activities of the Poona herbarium for publication in our journal [was it ever published?].

Rita Calder was a mounter in the Herbarium and documented her mounting numbers in notebooks before the advent of an electronic Mounting Backlog spreadsheet now held on SharePoint. LIVE Mounting Backlog Spreadsheet.xlsx
These notebooks are handwritten and document the year and date collections were submitted for mounting and then when they were completed (1983 – 2008). From 2007 the new mounter Kate Eden also completed entries, obvious by a change in handwriting. They also make references to specimens which were repaired and which member of staff submitted them.
There appear to be two sets of books. The ones with In/Out columns are specimens mounted in any given month/year. The other books are a record of specimens coming into the Mounting Room in any given year. They record the country of origin and the donor or member of RBGE staff who submitted them. They could be viewed in the context of the Incoming Specimen/Donation books already held in the Archive.

Letter from Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, to George Forrest in Yunnan dated 13 February 1905.
Balfour apologises for not writing earlier. "Today I am happy in being able to tell you that your case of plants has arrived - and what a treat you have given me! I know something of the difficulties of collecting but my experience of obstacles pales before your description of the conditions under which you have had to work. Yet what a result! Yous specimens are splendid and their interest botanically intense."
Balfour goes on to discuss some Primulas, including Primula japonica and Primula muscarioides (new to Balfour); Rhododendrons, including Rhododendron campylocarpum, and others unknown to Balfour. Saxifraga, Cassiope, Gentians, Corydalis, Clematis, Viburnum, Lonicera, Eukianthes, Pieris, Plumbago, Fritillaria, Lilium, Berberis, Polygonum, Trollius, Cornus, and Orchids including Cypripedium.
Balfour reassures Forrest that his collecting and accounts are all excellent, and finishes with a small update from Edinburgh: Tagg has just returned from a trip to Australia and the Treasury is appointing a committee to go into the whole question of our Herbarium and the necessary accomodation there and this I hope will result in immediate action. Mr. Jeffrey, Miss Traill and others continue to work there as heretofore.

1 black and white photograph mounted on thick black paper. NOTE: rough dates derived from subject descriptions in Hicks' 'Index of negatives' found in his itinerary (GB235 HJH/4/1)

Photograph of Major George Sherriff demonstrating to locals how to press a plant specimen

Writing on the back.

[TRANSCRIPTION]

First lesson in pressing a specimen

1 page letter (1 sheet of paper) from Frank Ludlow to John Herbert Hicks.

Transcription

BRITISH MUSUEM (NATURAL HISTORY)
CROMWELL ROAD, LONDON S.W.7
Telephone: KENsington 6323 Telegrams: Nathismus Southkens London

18/7/64

My dear Hicks,

Yours of the 4 July, Sherriff [George Sherriff], I know, has written to you about the photographs. I enclose a list of the Black and White negatives and Colour transparencies which you took in East Bhutan. I have no slides in the Museum. If you will let me know what negatives or transparencies you want, I will send them on of course, the colour transparencies good as they were in 1949, are not up to present-day standards. That cannot be expected. I had a fortnight in Scotland and enjoyed my stay three immensely. I spent 3 days, in Edinburgh working in the Herbarium, which is now housed in a new and magnificent building which the Queen [Elizabeth II] opened a short time ago. Apart from occasional attacks of arthritis Sherriff [George Sherriff] seemed very fit. Betty [Betty Sherriff] too was in fine form, very busy as usual with a multitude of tasks.

Yours,
F. Ludlow

[Letter included a list of photograph negatives that Hicks took in East Bhutan.]

Reply
Will come to London to choose x copy?