The collection consists of letters addressed mainly to William Pamplin along with a few other miscellaneous items dating from 1806-1886. There are well over 200 correspondents, nearly all of them eminent botanists of the day, British and foreign. The letters are mostly written in English with a number in French and German and a many deal only with business details. However, some are of great historical interest because they throw light on botanical activities in a period when the exploration of the flora of little known plants of the world was one of the main interests od botanists. Amongst the correspondents are Charles Darwin, Sir William Jackson Hooker and Friedich Martin Jozef Welwitsch.
Included also are the working papers of Mr Tully, such as the queries he received and his index cards which will be of great use to any researcher. These indices contain the names of botanists and of the plants mentioned within the correspondence.
Archivists note :
This catalogue is based on the work published by Mr.Tully, "A calendar of the papers of William Pamplin at the University of Wales, Bangor", Archives of Natural History, 1999, p.p. 299-348. The order in which the correspondence was arranged by Mr.Tully has been kept, with only a few minor changes. Some letters have been transcribed, and in these cases, the transcripts have been kept with the originals.