The Collection
The diversity of material in the Miscellaneous Reports collection will allow students and researchers across many fields to study, among others: Kew’s important role in the advancement of knowledge and professionalization of science; the globalization and commoditization of the world economy, especially economic and medical botany; exploration and travel; the interconnectivity of professional and personal networks; and the effects and ramifications of colonial and imperial activities.
This archive covers the years c.1840-1970 – a crucial period in globalization and the peak of global colonial activity. It contains 772 files (c.300,000 images). Most files are bound volumes averaging 400-500 images each and are similar to scrapbooks: the materials – reports, correspondence, or other published or unpublished literature – were collated by Kew and aggregated into volumes organized by country or region.
This mix of material types and collecting structure, together with Kew’s key role as a scientific, political, and colonial institution is what makes the Miscellaneous Reports so fascinating and rich for scholars and students.
Maps - detail from a map of the botanic gardens Sydney Australia, 1921. Primary Source Materials
- Published and unpublished reports
- Correspondence
- Travel literature
- Illustrations
- Newspaper and journal articles
- Maps
From the Collection
A British Empire-wide economic survey commissioned by the UK government in 1935. 
A letter to William Thiselton-Dyer, one of the directors of Kew, discussing the sending of seeds back to Kew and sugar production in India, forming part of a larger file on ‘cultural and economic products’ in that country in the latter 19th century. 
One of a series of letters to the Director of Kew, relating in great detail an exploratory journey to ‘British North America’ (i.e. Canada) in the 1840s.
