About the collection
About
Vellum is an independent herbarium and archive of botanical illustration, catalogued by hand since 1987 and open to researchers by appointment.
Vellum began in 1987 as a private collection of pressed plants and a shelf of inherited botanical plates, and has been catalogued continuously ever since.
The archive holds both physical specimens and historical illustrations, and reads each against the other — the pressed plant beside the plate that first described it.
“We do not own these plants. We keep them, and we keep the record.”— A. Merrow, Keeper
The keepers
Three hands, one catalogue.
Since 1987
A. Merrow
Keeper of the Archive
Since 2004
H. Bexley
Conservation
Since 2016
S. Vane
Cataloguing
Visit
The archive is open to researchers by appointment.
Holdings can be consulted in person, and the field-notes list carries new accessions as they are catalogued.
Request a Visit