Paper short abstract:

Travels and Adventures of an Orchid Hunter, the 1891 publication of Albert Millican holds rich information about Colombian orchids. By drawing on this archival resource and digitising Kew's Colombian orchid illustrations, valuable scientific knowledge can be more widely disseminated.

Paper long abstract:

Albert Millican's Travels and Adventures of an Orchid Hunter published in 1891 provides a rich insight into orchid collecting and travelling through Colombia in the late nineteenth century. By using archival material held at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, such as Millican's publication, and digitising scientific illustrations of Colombian orchids that currently remain largely unavailable to researchers and wider audiences, valuable scientific knowledge of Colombian orchids is increased, such as conservation and ecological understanding. Kew's orchid illustration collection includes the works of renowned Orchidaceae botanists Eric Hágsater (1945-), C.A. Luer (1922-2019) and G.C.K. Dunsterville (1905-1988), as well as watercolours and nineteenth century lithographs of Colombian orchids printed in botanical magazines. The digitised illustrations and corresponding metadata are disseminated through Kew's online portal for the Useful Plants of Colombia project, highlighting the importance of archival botanical illustrations in furthering scientific knowledge.