The Collection

• Anna Atkins (1799-1871)

  A contemporary and colleague of William Henry Fox Talbot, Anna Atkins can claim to have produced the first printed book in any country to be illustrated by photography. British algae: cyanotype impressions was published in 3 volumes, issued in parts between 1843 and 1853 (see sample illustration on this page). 

  • Volume I & II (1 bound volume, spine title - Brit: Algae:) - 194 plates
  • Volume III (1 bound volume, spine title - Cyanotypes of British Algae) - 179 plates (parts V - XI)
  • Part XII (unbound) - 12 plates
  • See also the entry for John Edward Davis (below)

  John Edward Davis (1815-1877)

  Davis was the second master of H.M.S. Terror on the Ross Antarctic expedition (1839-1843) and an accomplished marine artist.

  • 6 cyanotypes including 1 by Anna Atkins (Dictyota dichotoma in the young state & in fruit, watermarked 1848) and 5 by or for Davis from various locations and dated between September 1841 and November 1842 (watermarked 1843-1848)

  George Forrest (1873-1932)

  • Photographic collections relating to seven collecting trips in China between 1904 and 1932

• T. Crawford Godfrey

  • A large collection of 35mm colour slides including images featured in the 1984 publication Hong Kong fruits and seeds

  George Paxton (1850-1904)

  • Glass-plate negatives of the photographs taken for Remarkable trees in Ayrshire, 1894 using the camera illustrated on this page

  Tony Schilling

  • Approximately 3,900 35mm colour slides of photographs taken in Nepal and the Himalayan region including Bhutan and Yunnan between the 1960's and 1980's

  Sir George Watt

  • Glass-plate negatives taken in India, including photographs of textiles and exhibits from the Calcutta Exhibition in which he was heavily involved

  Frederick Anthony Hamilton Wills, 2^nd Baron Dulverton (1915-1992)

  • The Glenfeshie Book of Wild Flowers, album containing colour photographs of alpine zone plants taken by the 2^nd Lord Dulverton on his Scottish estate in the 1970's

• RBGE Photographers

  Robert Moyes Adam (1885-1967)

  • 1903 - 1914 (unofficial role), 1914 - 1949

  Ross Eudall

  • May 1948- August 1988

  Ken Grant

  • March 1970 – August 1990

  Sid Clarke

  • October 1988 – October 2003

  Debbie White

  • January 1991 – March 2004

  Lynsey Wilson

  • June 2004-present