• Two boxes of papers and correspondence
• Box of original manuscripts in English of ‘First Step in Botany’, published in Bengali (1876)
• Box containing three books of correspondence
• Box of notes on Botany in Manipur
• Box of books and correspondence on Gossypium
• Box containing his diary from 1878, a notebook of P. Neill Fraser’s and a text book with specimens inside it.
• Box containing notebooks and plant lists
• Three boxes of cotton papers and correspondence
• Box containing papers on commercial products of India
• Box containing correspondence regarding commercial products of India
• Folder containing two of the same photograph, one mounted, one not, of Abies Smithiana, Noghanda-Bagi Forrest, Sisula
• Numerous boxes of glass plate negatives
A collection of items relating to George Forrest and his family comprising:
GB 235 FIA/1/1: ‘Rhododendrons and the Various Hybrids’, by J.G. Millais, 1917, No.6, signed by author and annotated by George Forrest
GB 235 FIA/1/2: ‘Rhododendrons and the Various Hybrids’, 2nd Series, by J.G. Millais, 1924, No.5
GB 235 FIA/2/1-7: 7 x ‘Marine Algae of Joppa’ by George William Traill, 1886 (inc. author’s copy(1), Phebe M. Traill(2), W.H. Traill(3), scored out name(4) and 3 unsigned books(5-7, 5 possibly Clementina Traill))
GB 235 FIA/2/8: 1 x ‘Marine Algae of Elie’, by George William Traill, reprint from the Transactions of the Botanical Society of Scotland, 1888
GB 235 FIA/2/9: 1 x ‘Marine Algae of the Orkney Islands’ by George William Traill, 1890, H.C.M.W. (Clementina) Traill’s copy
GB 235 FIA/3: 1 box of 87 microscope slides, mostly trees and shrubs, made by Dr G. Ian Forrest (G. Forrest’s grandson) between 1959 and 1960 whilst studying for his B.Sc in Botany at University College London.
Traill, George William
This collection features:
- correspondence
- notebooks
- photographs (prints & negatives)
- microscopic slides
- fern collections
- reprints
- miscellaneous papers
The collection comprises photographs and reports related to the gathering and preparation of Sphagnum moss, in and around the Moffat/Beattock area, S.W. Scotland, which was used as a medical dressing for wounds during the First World War.
Forman, Adam
FRG/1 Correspondence
• 1: Box of Forrest correspondence, 1903-08 (to and from Clementina, I.B. Balfour, Bulley, Family), Forrest related correspondence, copies of his birth and marriage certificates, transcripts of his diary 1904-05, ‘Account of a Journey on the Upper Salwin, October to December 1905’, copy of the article ‘Land of the Crossbow, March 9th 1906’ from the National Geographic Magazine, (carbon copy, original version is in the red notebook under letter 3, filed in
the same box)
• 2: Box of Forrest correspondence, 1909-1911 – correspondence regarding his Yunnan expedition in 1910, and with I.B. Balfour and correspondence relating to Forrest.
• 3a: Box of Forrest correspondence with J.C. Williams 1911-1912, regarding his third expedition (February 1912-March 1915)
• 3b: Box of Forrest correspondence with J.C. Williams and I.B. Balfour, 1913-14 regarding his third expedition (February 1912- March 1915)
• 3c: Box of Forrest correspondence from 1915 regarding his third expedition (February 1912- March 1915)
• 4a: Box of Forrest correspondence from 1917-1920 regarding his fourth expedition (February 1917-March 1920)
• 4b: Box of Forrest correspondence, including I.B. Balfour and William Wright Smith, 1916-1920, regarding his fourth expedition (February 1917-March 1920)
• 5: Box of Forrest correspondence from June 1920-April 1923 regarding his fifth expedition (January 1921-March 1923)
• 6: Box of Forrest correspondence from 1922-28
• 7: Box of Forrest correspondence from 1929-1932, plus obituaries, etc.
FRG/2 Photographs
FRG/2/1 Prints:
• File of photographs marked ‘Forrest, Collectors, Human, etc.’
• File of photographs marked ‘Buildings, Temple, Graves, Towns, etc.’
• File of photographs marked ‘Mountain, Water, Bridge’
• File of photographs marked ‘Plants A-L’
• File of photographs marked ‘Plants M-Prim-’
• File of photographs marked ‘Plants Py-Z and misc.’
FRG/2/2 Glass Plate Negative Collection
FRG/3 Published work
• copy of the article ‘Land of the Crossbow’, from the National Geographic Magazine
FRG/4 Field Books
FRG/4/1 Unpublished Field Books:
• George Forrest’s field books – 27 original field books dating from 1904 to 1932
FRG/4/2 Published Field Books:
FRG/5 RBGE’s Notes relating to Forrest’s plants
• 16 folders in 15 boxes of RBGE’s plant collection notes arranged alphabetically by genus
• Three boxes of Rhododendron notes written and sent by Isaac Bayley Balfour and William Wright Smith c.1919,1921 and 1922 and Primula lists c.1914,1921 and 1922
FRG/6 Forrest’s lecture notes
• Box of lecture notes and lists of slides
• Box containing photo related lists, 1913-24 and lecture notes
FRG/7 Forrest’s collection of papers (unsorted at present)
FRG/8 maps
• Various maps of Forrest’s Botanical expeditions
• File containing maps from 1918-1922, some annotated and some hand drawn
FRG/9 - collection of work about Forrest by others, includes
• Box containing Cowan’s research from 1934 and information regarding Forrest Centenary in 1973
• Various articles referring to Forrest
• Various newspaper articles which mention George Forrest
FRG/10 RBGE Forrest ephemera – collection of objects used by / related to George Forrest
• Camera similar to one used by Forrest
1 Folder containing miscellaneous reports, illustrations and correspondence (correspondence contains restricted material)
Clement, Rose A.Poem, written in green ink on handmade paper and inserted into a folded card with ‘a contemplation’ on it. One one side of the paper is ‘Written by Katheryn’s bench by the southern border of the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh on the afternoon of the second day of 2025. John Robertson
Together, a while
If all that remains of me
is a place for others to rest,
a place for others to think,
and to connect
and to see
and to be.
Then put my life down
to the simple achievement
of a humble wooden bench
with a quiet brass plaque,
and on it shall be written:
‘let us dance together, a while’
set away somewhere gentle
at Edinburgh’s Botanical Ceilidh.
John R. 02.01.2025
Robertson, John1 small blue notebook containing field notes for plants collected by Mary Mendum on expedition to Irian Jaya in 1992. Irian Jaya is now known as Western New Guinea or West Papua.
4 Small collecting books – Sabah 1998 and 2000, Philippines and the Living Collections at RBGE. These contain original collecting notes including localities and descriptions which are potentially useful for future reference if anything is unclear on specimen labels.
2 small diaries – one of fieldtrip to Sulawesi in 2000 and one to the Philippines in 1998 or 1999– useful as reference for locations and logistics but also as Mary’s personal archive.
1 small notebook - with mix of collection information and general notes
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.
This collection consists of material created and gathered from the expeditions of F. Ludlow and G. Sherriff, thought their expeditions of Bhutan and Tibet during 1933-1949.
The collection consists of 5 sub-series: plant documents, expedition documents, diaries, correspondence and visual material.
[1] This series consists of a variety of material which includes plant and seed lists from their expedition with a large focus on Primula, Meconopsis and Rhododendrons, as well as publications gathered by Ludlow and Sherriff which cover their shared interest in the Himalayan region and it's flora and fauna. There is also a garden register donated by the Knox Finlay family detailing the progress of plants/seeds in their gardens acquired from various expeditions including Ludlow and Sherriff's between 1951-52.
[2] This series consists of a variety of expedition documents ranging from itineraries and maps to administration lists and passports.
[3] This series consists of originals and photocopies of the diaries of Sherriff and Ludlow during their expeditions.
[4] This series consists of a variety of correspondence from and to Sherriff and Ludlow over the course of their expeditions.
[5] This series consists of a variety of material including: photographic material, films and videos. Photographic material ranges from prints and negatives taken by Sherriff and Ludlow to prints of digital images taken as exhibition documentation in 2014. The films are..... There have been dvd surrogates made of the films to ensure continued accessibility.
Ludlow, Frank