vil 
“there being no suitable house belonging to the Crown vacant at 
the time.” In 1852, though still remaining his private property, 
the Director’s herbarium and part of his library were removed 
to the present building. Its occupation for the purposes of the 
library and herbarium dates from that year. 
In the same year the commencement of an official library at 
Kew was made by the gift, by Miss Bromfield, of the botanical 
books of her deceased brother, Dr. W. A. Bromfield ; its especial 
feature was the number of fine copies, chosen with fastidious taste, 
of the earlier botanical authors. This was followed in 1854 by 
the gift by the late George Bentham, Esq., C.M.G., F.R.S., from 
1861 to 1874 President of the Linnean Society, of his fine 
botanical library, which was very complete in what may be 
called “working books,” 
In 1867 (after his death) the Treasury sanctioned the purchase 
of such of Sir W. Hooker’s books as were wanting in the library, 
and which, though the establishment had had the use of them, 
were not its property. These included many scarce and costly books 
which rarely come into the market, and had been procured with 
much trouble and expense on the continent; there was also a 
valuable collection of travels. At the date of his decease Sir W. 
Hooker was the possessor of the finest private botanical library in 
existence, the result of nearly sixty years’ assiduous collecting. 
Through this purchase the Kew library was more than doubled 
in extent, 
These three important acquisitions formed the backbone of 
the present library. Gaps have been gradually filled up by 
subsequent gifts and bequests. A number of volumes mostly 
relating to Cryptogamic Botany were received in 1887 from the 
late Rev. M. J. Berkeley, F.R.S. The most important bequest 
was that in 1889 of the botanical library of the late John 
Ball, Esq., F.R.S., Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the 
Colonies, 1855-7, and first president of the Alpine Club. This 
was rich in works relating to the European flora, and in fine 
copies of books mainly collected in Italy. 
In 1892 Thomas Hanbury, Esq., of La Mortola, Ventimiglia, 
Italy, presented an important selection of books from the library 
of his late brother Daniel Hanbury, F.R.S., the well-known 
pharmacologist, 
