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.

47 photographs / studies of members of RBGE staff, mainly gardeners / probationer gardeners, some named, but many not.
Names include David Sydney Fish (x2), W. Douglas, Murray, David Wilkie, James D. McKenzie, James Esplin, D.M. Ross, William Ritchie, H.B. Anderson, Andrew R. Cosh, Thomas Sherlock, Douglas Law, William Fernie and Alexander Reid.

3 photographs taken at RBGE by George T. Malthouse in the 1890s, all showing the transportation of trees around RBGE: Araucaria imbricata, Quercus cerris and Crataegus oxyacantha, all with gardeners around the transporter.

REC/4: Roland Edgar Cooper – Photographs, 1913-1961
The Cooper Photograph Collection has been collated from a number of sources; some have been held in the RBGE Archives for some time, some have been donated and some purchased at auction.
REC/4/1: Photographs – RBGE, 1913-1932
Envelope of 13 photographs which have been historically filed in the archives with Cooper's correspondence, etc. including one of Cooper in 1913; Edgar Cooper and son Bill at Rangoon House, 1924-5; plants and scenery in Bhutan, including two plants collected by Cooper and growing at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in the 1930s.
REC/4/2: Photographs – Auction Lot, c.1880-1959
Set of four photograph albums and an envelope of family photographs and correspondence purchased at auction in 2009 and stored together in one box.
REC/4/2/1: 1. Photograph album of Himalayan views, people and plants. Undated [1913 onwards?]
REC/4/2/2: 2. Photograph album of Himalayan views, people and plants. Undated [1913 onwards?]
REC/4/2/3: 3. Photograph 'album' compiled by Cooper - "Photographs of the Robes worn in a Tibetan Priest Play and also some Movements of the Dance". Photographs by R.E. Cooper at Tongsa and Tashigong Djongs and others in the Eastern Himalaya, 1915.
REC/4/2/4: 4. Album of photographs taken at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, all taken by Cooper except for two taken by Garden Photographer Robert Moyes Adam, with accompanying poetry [written by Cooper?], [c.1934-1950?]
REC/4/2/5: 5. Envelope of family photographs, correspondence, genealogical information relating to Cooper / Wiedhofft family, newspaper clipping with family information and pencil drawing of unknown face. Includes two Himalayan photographs, one of Rhoomoo/Rhomoo Lepcha, Sikkim, 1913 with Meconopsis paniculata, and the other of Rhododendron griffithianum, Bhutan, 1914.
REC/4/3: Photographs – Donation, c.1913-1950
These photographs were donated to the RBGE Archives in 2010 from a private collection. There are only three original photographs amongst them; the rest were digitised and returned to the owner and are represented in the collection by a cd and a set of modern prints.
REC/4/3/1: Birthday card dated 15/06/1950 sent to May Kerr by R.E. Cooper including a poem by Cooper and his photograph of Rhoomoo Lepcha with Meconopsis wallichiana (Bhutan 1914).
REC/4/3/2/1-11: Set of 11 digitised photographs from a private collection showing Cooper, his family including wife Emily and son Bill, the Kerr family and Cooper and William Wright Smith with King George V and Queen Mary; c.1937-1949.
REC/4/3/3/1-2: Two original photographs showing a snake charmer in Calcutta in 1913.

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.

The 28 photographs in this series, taken by Pietro Guidi in San Remo, Italy, in the 1870s formed part of the Photographic Flora of San Remo, supervised by local pharmacist Francesco Panizzi. Each photograph has a Latin name, locality and a flowering time and som are hand coloured.

Binder with negative of chromosomes, images taken by Mary Gibby from specimens collected by Christopher Fraser-Jenkins.

[SPINE] CRFJ Ferns N1 → O35

Contains

• approx. 860, 2.25"x3" black and white negatives, across approx. 123 pages
• approx. 1, 35mm strip, 1 page

Many of the page protectors have titles and/or annotations (typically collection/reference number), either written on directly in pen/marker or have a label. a few of the negatives have not been cut apart

Binder with negative of chromosomes, images taken by Mary Gibby from specimens collected by Christopher Fraser-Jenkins.

[SPINE] CRFJ Ferns M1 → M75

Contains

• approx. 765, 2.25"x3" black and white negatives, across approx. 133 pages
• approx. 5, 35mm strips, 1 page, variable length strips

Many of the page protectors have titles and/or annotations (typically collection/reference number), either written on directly in pen/marker or have a label. Contact sheet with 5 images on it (no annotation); 1 page is empty, 1 page is made of cellophane.

Binder with negative of chromosomes, images taken by Mary Gibby from specimens collected by Christopher Fraser-Jenkins.

[SPINE] 35mm O15-O39 P1-26 X3-30 Y9-41

Contains

• approx. 790, 2.25"x3" black and white negatives, across approx. 150 pages
• approx. 17, 35mm strips, across 3 pages, variable length strips

Many of the page protectors have titles and/or annotations (typically collection/reference number), either written on directly in pen/marker or have a label. single contact of some negatives (total 6), annotated with date: Nov 1981.

1 binder with black and white photographs of chromosomes. some of the plastic holders have a label. The prints have labels on back.

2 pages of negatives found in middle and at the end of the binder (total of 40 images across 8 strips)

[COVER] PHOTO-SCIENCE Storage File
[SPINE] CHROMOSOME

Contains

• approx. 124 black and white photographs across 31 pages