How a hidden collection of 772 volumes reveals the secrets of imperial botany
From cocaine-infused wines to mysterious disappearances, the Miscellaneous Reports Collection at Kew Gardens holds the uncatalogued secrets of a global empire. Once physically inaccessible, these archives document the strategic movement of plants and people across the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Miscellaneous Reports Collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, serves as a vital window into the era of economic botany. Comprising 772 volumes, the collection primarily spans the years 1850 to 1928, though some related records date back to the 1840s. These documents—which include scientific reports, maps, photographs, and correspondence—detail how Kew acted as a central linchpin in a global network. This network connected botanists, colonial administrators, and commercial interests to coordinate the cultivation and transportation of useful plants across the British Empire.
The scope of the reports is remarkably diverse, covering far-reaching geographies such as China, Sudan, India, and Barbados. The contents reveal the practical and often extractive nature of colonial botany, documenting everything from silkworm studies in China and forest management in Sudan to the study of sugar cane disease in Barbados. The archives also capture the more eccentric or darker side of botanical history, including stories of the mysterious disappearance of Edgar Spooner and the production of wine made with cocaine.
Currently, a significant conservation and cataloguing project is transforming this collection. Previously uncatalogued and physically difficult to access, the volumes are being stabilized, repaired, and indexed to the file level. This effort, supported by the Wellcome Trust, allows researchers to utilize the Kew Archive Catalogue and digital platforms like JSTOR to trace the global movement of species and people. By preserving these papers, Kew is ensuring that the complex history of how natural resources were appropriated and managed remains accessible to modern scholars.
Source: Miscellaneous Reports Collection at Kew Gardens
