Acer palmatum, although there are more than 100 species of maple worldwide, only one species (Acer campestre) is native to the UK.

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The Natural History Museum
Nature's Treasurehouse

John Thackray and Bob Press

From its beginnings as part of the British Museum to its current site at South Kensington, the Natural History Museum has long been a favourite destination and home to one of the world's finest collections of natural objects - some 70 million animals, plants, minerals, rocks and fossils.

Nature's Treasurehouse takes us on a whirlwind journey through the history of the Natural History Museum, the people, the influences, the discoveries and much more. It chronicles the more important milestones in the development of this Museum, and brings to life the times in which they occurred, and the excitement and sometimes controversy that surrounded many of these events.

Published by the Natural History Museum.

Key features

  • Copiously illustrated with images from the Museum's own archives
  • Accessible and enjoyable short history of the Museum
  • Comprehensive overview of the public and private life of the Museum, past and present
  • Delightful as a gift or as a book to treasure

Contents
 Preface; Origins of the Museum; The Museum established; A new building; To South Kensington; The Collections; Exhibitions and education; Research; The digital age; Bibliography; Index

About the authors
John Thackray was Museum Archivist from 1989 to his death in 1999. After a BSc degree in geology from University College London, he was Scientific Officer in the Geological Museum, and took an MSc in the history of science at Imperial College London, with further studies in Archive Administration. He was secretary for the Society of the History of Natural History for 17 years, and had been elected as the Society's President early in 1999.

Bob Press has worked as a curator and researcher at the Natural History Museum since 1973 and is now deputy head of the Department of Botany. His current research centres on plants of the Atlantic islands but he has also studied the plants of Europe and of Nepal. He has a special interest in plant collectors and the history of collecting, and is author of numerous books including field guides.

Reviews
"...beautifully illustrated with numerous carefully selected photographs...this book s a delightful read." Archives of Natural History

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Nature's Treasurehouse cover

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Specifications

ISBN: 0 565 09164 6
Price: £11.00
Format: Paperback
Size: 234 x 154 mm
Extent: 144 pp
Published: November 2001
Subject classification: History; history of science; natural history