Eva Crane was dedicated to collecting and recording every piece of information she could find relating to bees and beekeeping.
This search for knowledge did not stop at the spoken or written word. She collected artefacts related to the development of beekeeping in the countries she visited. Most of the items in this important Collection were originally gathered by Dr Crane during her extensive travels in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. Airport searches and security during this time was less rigorous and she brought a huge assortment of items back on her flights. These ranged from small innocuous items like coins depicting bees or queen cages to full size hives made from local materials sometimes covered with mud or more often cow dung!
In total there were 15 catalogues (identified under the 'thematic'search fascility) and the range of the collection is extensive, from queen cages to silver coins and mead bottles to honey extractors.
In 2022, the collection was donated to the Eva Crane Trust from the International Bee Research Association. During that time, under the supervision and dedication of Prof. Dr de Graaf, all the items have been carefully photographed and re-catalogued into a digital system so that they can be shared and enjoyed by a wider audience.
Explore our collection of nearly 700 items, featuring comprehensive information from the original catalogue. Many entries also include original sketches and pictures. Enjoy your journey into beekeeping history!
Go to the Catalogue
Please note that the images in this collection are the property of the Eva Crane Trust ©. For full terms of use please click here. If you wish to obtain permission of use please contact: mail@evacranetrust.org