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Plant Taxonomy: Archives & Special Collections

Subjects: Plant Taxonomy

Digital Archives of Special Collections at the Sherardian Library

The Sherardian Library contains many rare books, manuscripts and botanical artworks. Many of these collections have been digitized and are available to view online. These collections may be accessed through the following links:

Flora and Fauna Graeca

Sibthorp and Smith's Flora Graeca (1806-1840), illustrated by Ferdinand Bauer, comprises ten volumes that document the flora of the Mediterranean, based on the studies of John Sibthorp, Sherardian Professor of Botany at the university from 1784 until his death in 1796. The volumes are accompanied by illustrations executed by Austrian botanical illustrator Ferdinand Bauer, who joined Sibthorp on his Mediterranean expeditions.

A project in the mid-2000s digitized a full set of the Flora Graeca, together with Bauer's original drawings and watercolours, on which the published engravings were based, plus Bauer's "Fauna Graeca" drawings of animals of the Mediterranean, created for a never-published work, and a unique series of topographic "Mediterranean Scenes".

The complete volumes are:

 

Druce Archive

The archive of George Claridge Druce (1850-1932), the botanist, pharmacist, Oxford local politician and former Lord Mayor, consists of around 160 boxes of his correspondence, ephemera, photos and glass slides. 

The majority of this archive has now transferred to the Bodleian's Special Collections Department. 

For enquiries and to make an appointment to view this archive please contact: specialcollections.enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Druce Birthday Book

Recent efforts have taken place to catalogue and digitise some of the contents of the Druce archive. An Access database of items from the Druce Birthday Book has been created. The Excel (~96.9 KB) summary table here provides an index of the individual names and documents that occur in the Birthday Book.

Note: Please contact the Sherardian Library if you have queries about items which appear in the summary table.

Image from the Flora Graeca

Related Archives

Fry Herbals Collection

This interesting collection was part of a larger collection, covering a wide range of subjects, that was given to the Taylor Institution Library in 1955 by the Misses Esther Catherine, Susan Mary and Josephine Fry. It represented the family library from their home at The Manor House, Upton, Berks.

The Fry Herbals Collection was transferred to the Sherardian Library in 1991. It covers herbals and early works on natural history, chiefly botany, and was the property of the donors' aunt Miss Caroline Sophia Fry (1861-1946).

Bibliography:

Gilson, D.J. Herbals in the Fry Collection at the Taylor Institution. The Book Collector, 22(1): 44-62 1973

Search the Bodleian Libraries' Scientific Manuscript Collections

See the Special Collections Department Website for information on finding special collections material at the Bodleian Library.

For information on the scientific manuscript collections at the Bodleian, covering natural history and including the papers of contemporary scientists see: https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/early-sc/scientific

Search the Bodleian's Archives: https://archives.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Need Help?

For plant taxonomy subject enquiries please contact Sophie Wilcox:

sophie.wilcox@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

For other subject enquiries and for general information about Oxford's science libraries please check the Science Libraries LibGuide.