Topic(s)
Natural History, botany
Extent
Ca. 1,300 books, pamphlets and periodicals
Scope and content

Page with hand-coloured woodcut illustration from Herbarius latinus, 1485 (INCUNABULA 2 s)
Much of the collection consists of the transactions of local natural history societies - largely comprised of amateur naturalists - from the 17th century to the present day, and includes painstakingly observed inventories of local flora and fauna, as well as local meteorological data. This makes them a valuable record of the distribution and changing patterns of plants, animals and local climate in the UK.
History
The Hertfordshire Natural History Society deposited the collection at University College London in 1935. It has been added to subsequently.
Finding aids and published descriptions
- Hopkinson, J., Catalogue of the library of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society and Field Club (London: John van Voorst, 1885)
- Hopkinson, J., Supplementary catalogue of the library of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society and Field club (London: Gurney & Jackson, 1890)
- Freeman, R.B., ‘The Society’s Library’, Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society and Field Club, 27.7 (1975), pp. 348-354.
Access
The collection is fully catalogued. To browse the records for the printed material, conduct a shelfmark search for HNHS on Explore.