Press Release

Kings and Queens and a Quagga at Kew: The History of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew by Ray Desmond

Over 250 years of history in one new, elegant volume published, 18 October. 

This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of how a stretch of quiet riverside land was gradually transformed by succeeding generations into the world’s most plant-biodiverse place and a World Heritage Site.

Ray Desmond, a former Chief Librarian and Archivist at Kew is the leading authority on the complex history of the Gardens. In researching this complete revision of his earlier work, he has unearthed new material, added two chapters plus additional historical plans of the Gardens, and discovered that Frederick Prince of Wales once kept a quagga at Kew. (Wealthy dignitaries sometimes kept private zoos or menageries at the time. A quagga is an extinct mammal, closely related to horses and zebras. It had zebra stripes on the front half of its body, but not its rear.)

The book traces Kew’s long and complex history from its eighteenth century origins as two adjoining royal estates whose gardens pioneered some of the latest fashions in landscape design. Kew also played a significant role in the development of the natural resources of the British Empire, helping to establish botanical gardens in the colonies and introducing new commercial crops.

The Victorians brought new momentum to Kew when it became a national botanical garden, converting Georgian curiosity about the natural world into the beginnings of world-leading plant science laboratories. These activities have left a legacy of 41 listed structures, including five unique glasshouses, plus 300 glorious acres and historic landscapes. Today, the Gardens represent a great living directory of the world’s plants, and the best-organised giant collection of preserved plant species, forming an international resource of vital importance to conservation projects.

Last, but not least, it is a social history of the Gardens, and of the people who made them. The author evaluates the contribution of the Royal Family, including court life at Kew, influential patrons such as Sir Joseph Banks, architects, landscape designers, successive directors and their staff to the improvement of Kew and its collections.

Notes for Editors

The History of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Second Edition
Imprint: Kew Publishing
Content: 480 pages,17appendices with full chronology, comprehensive bibliography and index
Illustrations:     Over 250 illustrations, photographs and maps
Publication date: 18 October 2007
Price:   £39.95
ISBN:    978 1 84246 168 6

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), The European Discovery of the Indian Flora (1992), Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturalists (1994) and Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1999).

Find out more about Kew’s publications go to our on-line bookshop at www.kewbooks.com and to learn more about Kew Gardens visit www.kew.org

Further Information

Journalists can visit www.kew.org/press or contact Anna Quenby, Catherine Owen or Oliver Basciano in the RBG Kew Press Office. Telephone: 020 8332 5607.  E-mail: pr@kew.org.  For images, please visit www.kew.org/press/images.  Please contact the press office for username and password.

Notes to Editors

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction and its 132 hectares of landscaped gardens attract over one million visitors per year.  Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and represents over 250 years of historical landscape. The site houses over 40 listed buildings and other structures including the Palm House, Temperate House, Orangery and Pagoda as well as two ancient monuments, Queen Charlotte's Cottage and Kew Palace.  RBG, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world.  www.kew.org.

For further Press information please contact: