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Welcome to the RHS Lindley Collections catalogue where you can explore over 500 years of gardening history and science.
There are 6 collection groups in the RHS Heritage Catalogue and you can filter your search to cover some or all of these groups:
Artbotanical art, orchid portraits and portrait paintings dating from to the 17th century to the present.
Archivesarchives of the RHS and collected archives of key people and institutions in British horticulture.
Photographyphotographs documenting gardeners, gardens and gardening.
Nursery Cataloguesnursery and horticultural trade catalogues dating back to the 1700s.
Artefactsobjects associated with the history and activities of the RHS and the Harlow Carr Garden tool collection.
Ephemeraincludes advertising, seed packets, garden guidebooks and postcards.Some items on this catalogue are digitised and can be viewed online, others can only be seen by making an appointment at one of the libraries where the original items are held. Collections are held in our libraries in London and RHS Wisley and in offsite storage.
Making an appointment to viewIf you would like to make an appointment to view items from our collection please select the “Add to selection” button, from the Selection menu option and fill out the “Collections access request” form. Please note that some items are closed to public access and are marked as such in the catalogue record
Other RHS collectionsIf you would like to search records of our book, periodical and pamphlet collection, please go to RHS Library Catalogue.
If you would like to search for and access digitised items from both the Library and Heritage catalogues and/or specimens from the RHS Herbarium, please go the RHS Digital Collections.
Terms of Use
By continuing on our website to view the RHS Heritage Catalogue you are agreeing to our full Terms of use
The material featured on this site is intended for non-commercial use including private study, teaching, learning and research. Commercial use of information and images published in the RHS Heritage Catalogue will require our permission and the RHS may charge fees for such commercial use.
About digitised images on this siteRecords with images indicate that an item has been digitised, and can be found in full on the RHS Digital Collections website. Simply follow the link in the record to access the digital copy and see full details on image use and reproduction rights.
The material featured on this site is intended for non-commercial use including private study, teaching, learning and research. Commercial use of information and images published in the RHS Heritage Catalogue will require our permission and the RHS may charge fees for such commercial use.
Content WarningThe RHS acknowledges that historical records shared on this site may contain, in their content or catalogue descriptions, terminology, which is inappropriate, outdated, offensive or pejorative. Where such language is employed in the original documents, these have been reproduced in the catalogue using direct quotes from the source material and, where possible or relevant, by including a modern, non-offensive term, although it is recognised that this practice may also be problematic. Please see the RHS Heritage Interpretation Principles for background on our approach.
The original terms used in the collections have been retained in the interest of historical and botanical accuracy, and do not reflect the views and values of, nor are they condoned by, the RHS. We welcome feedback about the language in this catalogue and will consider all requests for changes. Please contact library@rhs.org.uk