Archives

The RSABG Research Library houses the Gardens’ institutional archives, which contain staff publications, original manuscripts, field notes, original artwork, photographs, correspondence, and historical documents from both the Orange County and Claremont sites.

The library also houses the personal archive of Theodore Payne, founder of the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants, Inc. in Sunland, California.  This archive is on loan to RSABG for the purposes of cataloging and preservation. It includes written papers, records, books, albums, photographs, slides, drawings, catalogs, and other materials created and/or acquired by Theodore Payne during his lifetime.

The Library’s collection also includes the Marcus Jones Archives and Collection, as well as the Samuel Parish Collection; both men were local botanists in the late 19th century.

The library contains a large collection of rare books. The oldest volume, authored by the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder, was published in 1525.  The rare book collection  includes herbals, books of botanical illustration and descriptions, floras of the world, and early works on California history.