Excerpt:
There are many collections of private papers of botanists including material from former Directors not forming part of their working documentation plus amongst many famous scientists: John Ray (1627-1705), Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), Charles Darwin (1809-1882), Richard Spruce (1817-1893), Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), Henry Nicholas Ridley (1855-1956), Isaac Henry Burkill (1870-1965), and Richard Eric Holttum (1895-1990).