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Papers of Norman Douglas Simpson, 1910-1974, comprising correspondence and papers regarding various topics including botany and plants, the Index ‘A Bibliographical Index of the British Flora’, expeditions and field trips, Simpson’s library and his dealings with publishers, book sellers, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The British Museum (Natural History), societies such as the Botanical Society of the British Isles (B.S.B.I.). There are also invoices and orders for the Bibliographical Index, eleven notebooks which mostly relate to his time at Kew working on identifying specimens from the North-Western Mongolia and Chinese Dzungaria expedition, Astragalus and his time in Egypt and Sudan 1912-1929 and seven boxes of index cards which relate to his plant collecting trips abroad. There are also plant lists, book lists, drawings and some maps. These papers document many of N D Simpson’s activities throughout his life.

Papers of John Eliot Howard, 1836-1951, comprising three series. The first series (JEH/1/1-JEH/1/48) contains handwritten correspondence and papers between 1836 and 1884. The second series (JEH/2/1-JEH/2/21) contains Press cuttings, Reports and other Publications from between 1856-1951. The third series (JEH/3/1-JEH/3/5) contains Illustrations, Photographs, Botanical bookplates and glass negatives from the 19th Century.

The bulk of material is correspondence to JE Howard regarding Cinchona, mainly in the form of scientific discussion and research, collection and donation of specimens, and scientific and commercial exploration. It dates from the early to late 19th century. The correspondence is international. It includes some documents relating to the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and it's museum collections (For example, correspondence from Joseph Ince and Daniel Hanbury, and formal acknowledgements for specimens donated by Howard to the Society's Museum. - see list for details.) There is also printed material, ranging from newspaper cuttings, journal and periodical articles to East India Company reports and printed records.

This archive includes correspondence with Charles Ledger, Clements Markham, G M McIvor, John Broughton and others, letters to John Elliot Howard from the Directors of Kew Gardens: Thistleton Dyer and Joseph Hooker.

This archive contains important information about the international network of botanists and commercial explorers in the field. It contains particularly strong information on the growing of Cinchona in India.

Papers of George Bentham, 1799- 1897, comprising four series. The first is a collection of correspondence addressed to George Bentham, primarily from other botanists and botanical in subject, in addition to letters from Bentham addressed to Sir Joseph Hooker and several others (GEB/1). The second series consist of diaries written by Bentham, the earliest beginning in 1807 and the latest finishing in 1883, near the end of his life (GEB/2). The third series contains various papers, manuscripts and documents relating to the life and death of Bentham, as well his autobiography covering the years of his life from 1800 to 1834 (GEB/3). The fourth and final series contains botanical works, papers and manuscripts written by Bentham, including his nine volume work on Leguminosae and the Bentham Herbarium plant list (GEB/4).

Papers of Edward Kent Balls comprising expedition papers consisting of diaries, plant lists, photographs and negatives and field collecting notebooks. Contains papers relating to Northern America such as plant collecting notebooks, correspondence and press cuttings; also comprises correspondence with specific institutions and a condensed autobiography.

Papers of Francis Ballard comprising correspondence sent both to and from Ballard, as well as a small number of letters, which were sent between two completely different individuals (10 Oct 1929-18 Dec 1963). Additionally there are botanical notes relating to Ballard's work as a pteriodologist including plant lists from his expedition to Ceylon and proceedings from conferences (20th century); and material, which seems to have compiled during Ballard's time at RBG Kew. Within this compiled material there are a number 19th century letters, which Ballard appears to have arranged somewhat artificially from the papers of John G Baker.

Papers of John Ball comprising botanical manuscripts relating to the Southern Alps, Morocco and other parts of Europe including a catalogue of plants on the South side of the Alps, Moroccan plants and more generally notes on plants in other European countries. Also correspondence with Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1859-1896).

JBA/1/1: "Distribution of Plants on the South Side of the Alps". Large volume recording plants in their scientific names and the frequency of their distribution in various European mountainous areas in table format; the geographical areas covered are as follows: S. Alpine distribution, French Alps, Swiss Alps, German Alps, Illyrian Alps (Bosnia, and Herzegovina), Ligurian Apennines (Italy), central Apennines, Neap. Apennines, Pynrenees, Scandinavia and Carpathian mountains. There are also additonal manuscript notes, some with numbers contained within 1 to 50. The very last page of the volume gives a list of Italian geographical locations numbered 1 to 50 entitled 'Districts South Side of the Alps'.

JBA/1/2: "Distribution of Plants on the South Side of the Alps". Small volume of manuscript notes recording latin plant names and locations; some are accompanied by numbers.

JBA/1/3-5: Three manuscript volumes listing Moroccan plants with locations and plant descriptions; the altitude is also sometimes mentioned as well as some observation notes.

JBA/1/6: General bontanical notes with lists of plants from Europe and Morocco. This volume comprises general botanical notes which have been bound together, and an index (Not comprehensive) was produced at a later stage (after binding), situated at the front of the volume. The content ranges from general botanical notes, sketches and memoranda such as description of a new species of Veronica, notes on melaphyre observed near Verona (Italy), notes on other group of plants such as Saxifraga and Sagiona, the genus Polynogon and others. Includes also list of plants: from Olympus and Brussa - an island off the coast of Italy, in the Veneto region; list of plants from Uina, Switzerland, list of plants from Tangier with a tabular view of the mountain flora of the Great Atlas mountains (Morocco), showing th distribution of species and the altitude. Comprises other botanical notes such as an account of an excursion through Portugal and Spain (1850s); folios 125-127 are ink sketches of Hieracium species observed in Italy; folios 128-188 consist of notes entitled 'Genera plantarum Vol I'; folios 188-208 are notes on Alpine and Moroccan flora in table format; folios 209-218consist of notes on the distribution and genera of the Alps and analysis of the 'genera plantarum'; folios 219-228 consist of a 'table showing the georgraphical distribution of the genera in each natural ? distinguishing the monotpypic genera'. Folios 233-234 consist of a list in table fromat of 'Natural orders in European Alps and other mountain regions, warm temperate and tropics.

JBA/2: file of correspondence with J D Hooker.