Three photographs of Park Keepers at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh featuring George Tait, donated by his family in 2026.
George Tait (1872-1950) was a Park Keeper at RBGE between 1911 and Dec.1936; he served in the Boer War and WW1; Royal Scots / 1st Gordon Highlanders.
/1 - 'Granddad Tait Britanical Gdns' - photograph of George Tait at West Gate Lodge(?)
/2 - Park Keepers, Royal Botanic Gdns, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1935, G.Tait; photograph showing seven Park Keepers at RBGE in 1935; presumably George Tait (front, right) and his colleagues, Sgt John M. Lugton, Arthur W. Hudson, Douglas Hunter, James D. Kerr, Robert M. MacLeish and Henry M. Smith.
/3 - 'Granddad Tait, Gatehouse, Botanic Gardens'; photograph showing three Park Keepers at a gate box; George Tait in the centre.
A biography of George Tait was provided by his family; kept with accession records.

•Folder containing photographs of trees, (1901), used in Percy [Groom’s] ‘Trees and their Life Histories’ (1907), found in the National Museum of Scotland. [accession 2005/08]
•Four small folders containing photos of plants and flowers, dated 1901 on the front but all dated on the back 24/11/1923 and stamped ‘The Royal Scottish Museum’ [already at RBGE by 2005]
•Four large folders containing photos of plants and flowers dated 1901 on the front but all dated on the back 24/11/1923 and stamped ‘The Royal Scottish Museum’ [already at RBGE by 2005]

The photographs cover a wide variety of activity at RBGE and many were used in the book 'How the Garden Grew' by L. Paterson. There are student groups, work in the Rock Garden c.1938-39, the Palm House, shots around the garden including snow clearing, staff/students prior to the Second World War including Henry W. Moseley, William G. Webster, James G. Crabbe, W.S. Neil, John E.G. Beach, Ronald J. Smith and also Jack Roberts. Trip to Loch Lomond (Guild?), Laboratory Shots and Jack Roberts dressed up as the Rag Queen on May Day 1948.

20 photographs showing the development of the Rock Garden in around 1938-39 (x17) the arrival of the large stone trough from House o'Hill for the alpine yard c.1936? (x2) and Primula reidii taken by David Wilkie

•Box containing photographs of an expedition to China, and George Forrest related photographs, 2003

•Folder of slide collection of Icelandic Plants
•Box of slide collection of Arctic Plants

•Book containing photographs of personalities, plants and landscapes, China

1 page letter.

Enclosed material:

• 2 photographs of Dicksonia x lathamii, images of spores taken by an SEM by Peter Edwards (Sept. 1983)

Attached to 3 letters:

• From J. Aldred to A.C. Jermy (20 Dec 1984)
• From J. Aldred to A.C. Jermy (14 Jan 1986)
• From A.C. Jermy to J. Aldred (n.d. Jan 1986)

The albums appear to be from William Purdom who travelled and collected plants with Reginald Farrer in Kansu / Gansu, northern China in 1914-1915, but one was compiled by Reginald Farrer and three relate to their collecting trip, so all 5 albums have been stored within the Reginald Farrer collection.