Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation

This index made available the identity of botanists, horticulturists and plantsmen whose portraits were included in the portrait collection of the Hunt Institute and provided minimal biographical information for each subject. The portrait collection included botanists from all countries, from all times, including those living, and whether of world-wide or local importance in his or her field. The biographical information included the day, month and year of birth and death (if deceased), the place and country of birth and death and the person's botanical interests. Portraits in the collection consist of woodcuts, engravings, lithographs, photographs and some drawings and paintings. At the time of publication, the collection included portraits of over 11,000 individuals, and the number of portraits was in excess of 17,000. Unless restricted by copyright, or reservations by the donor of the portrait, photocopies were available, for, in fact, the ability to supply copies was one of the principal purposes of assembling this collection. Furthermore, if a particular portrait in the collection could not be supplied by the Institute because of restrictions, the Institute was in a position to advise the inquirer the name and address of its source. Information from this publication was updated and included in our Catalogue of Portraits of Naturalists, Mostly Botanists, in the Collections of the Hunt Institute, The Linnean Society of London and the Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques de la Ville de Genève, parts 1–3 (1987–1999). Now the information from both publications has been updated and included in the Register of Botanical Biography and Iconography database.