Related archive collections
Model beluga whale, 1934. It took over a year for the skeletons and models of the old Whale Hall to be moved into a new gallery, which opened in 1935.
Browse links to other repositories with natural history archives collections.
British archives
Museum staff working on a whale carcass, 1930s.
- British Museum Archives
- British Geological Survey
- British Library Archives
- The National Archives
- Royal Geographical Society
- Linnaean Society Archives
- Zoological Society of London
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh
- University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge
- Science Museum Archives
Includes the National Cataloguing Unit of Contemporary Scientists, now known as the Centre for Scientific Archives. - Joseph Banks Archive Project
- Rothschild Archive
International archives
- Smithsonian Institute Archives
- American Museum of Natural History Archives
- Australian Museum Archives
- Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris Archives
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard Archives
Archive collection hubs
Encyclopedia of Australian Science
For the papers of antipodean scientists
Archives Hub
Search a wealth of archives held at UK universities and colleges
UK Government datasets (archived)
Archival digital data from UK government departments and agencies
Access to Archives (A2A)
A database of catalogues from archival bodies across England
MALVINE
Manuscripts and Letters via Integrated Networks in Europe, a network of European libraries, archives, documentation centres and museums
AIM25
Collection level descriptions of the archives of over 100 higher education institutions, cultural organisations and livery companies in the Greater London area.
Other sources
Bridson, Gavin D R, Phillips, Valerie C and Harvey, Anthony P. 1980. Natural history manuscript resources in the British Isles. London: Mansel
British Museum Archives
The Natural History Museum was part of the British Museum until 1963. Records relating to the Natural History Museum prior to 1881 may be found here.
Rothschild Archive
Lionel Walter Rothschild bequeathed his vast collections at Tring to the Museum, and Miriam Rothschild was a talented entomologist, botanist and zoologist. Search the Rothschild Achive here.