Product Description

The authorised history of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1058870 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 480 pages

From Library Journal
Ghillean T. Prance, the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, states in his foreword, "Nobody learns more about the institution where they work than the librarian." Desmond, formerly chief librarian and archivist at Kew, proves this point with his definitive history of Britain's most famous gardens. The early chapters offer a history of the buildings in the garden and of the royal involvement in the architecture and landscaping of their properties at Kew. Every fact about the early years seems to have been ferreted out, and extensive quotations are taken from archival material. The years when the gardens were the repository of Britain's plant-collecting expeditions take the story around the world, and Desmond explains in detail how those breadfruit trees on the Bounty were tended before the mutiny. We are brought to the present with information about the research activities supporting contemporary Kew's primary objective of increasing knowledge and understanding of the plant kingdom. Fifteen appendixes cover topics ranging from boundary walls, trees, and the water supply to a detailed chronology and brief biographies of persons related to Kew's history. This detailed and engrossing history is recommended for research collections.
Daniel Starr, Museum of Modern Art Lib., New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
It is impossible to do justice to the comprehensiveness of both the text and copious illustrations of this superbly researched and beautifully produced book. -- Ann Geneva, Financial Times

This is an important book, impeccably researched, superbly written, illustrated and produced. -- Allen Paterson, Country Life

About the Author
Ray Desmond was Chief Librarian and Archivist at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and subsequently a Deputy Keeper in the British Library. He is a Vice-President and former Chairman of the Garden History Society and former President of the Society for the History of Natural History which awarded him their Founders Medal. His books on the history of botany and horticulture include Bibliography of British Gardens (1984), A Celebration of Flowers (1987), Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturalists (1994) and Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker(1999).