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About accessibility
The archives of the CJBG
Some 70,000 unique manuscript items bear witness to the botanical wealth of Geneva and Europe, including:
- Very rich scientific correspondence,
- Both published and unpublished manuscripts (among them the famous “Prodrome” by our founder Augustin-Pyramus de Candolle),
- Iconographic documents.
A spectacular collection, admirably preserved
Some items are more outstanding than others because of their author (a manuscript page by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, an exchange of letters between Charles Darwin and Alphonse de Candolle) or their artistic quality (the very precious collection of drawings from the Flore des Dames de Genève). They all have one thing in common: scrupulous storage in special boxes made of acid-free cardboard to protect the items from light, dust and any pests. The archives room provides a place of shelter where the temperature and humidity are monitored constantly.
How do I access the archives collection?
The valuable nature of the collection mean it is not freely accessible to the public. However, it is possible for a fee to request a digital reproduction by completing the copy request form and sending it to biblio.cjb@ville-ge.ch.