The Society's main publication is Archives of natural history (formerly the Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History). Produced twice a year, it is distributed free to all members. All 37 volumes published since 1936 are now available online free of charge to members of the Society who have renewed their subscription for 2011. Individuals who are not members of the Society may access the back issues on payment of an access fee.

Free sample issue Archives of Natural History Volume 38.1

Free online article is "The collaboration of the French naturalist Charles De Gerville with the Sowerby family and its contribution to early nineteenth-century geology" by R. J. Cleevely, Archives of natural history 39 (1): 77-110, 2012. 

Archives of natural history is the main way in which the Society fulfils its objectives and publishes papers in all areas of interest to the Society and its members. It provides an avenue for the publication of papers on the history and bibliography of natural history in its broadest sense, and in all periods and all cultures. This includes botany, geology, palaeontology and zoology, the lives of naturalists, their publications, correspondence and collections, and the institutions and societies to which they belong. Bibliographical papers concerned with the study of rare books, manuscripts and illustrative material, and analytical and enumerative bibliographies are also published.

Archives of natural history is published for the Society for the History of Natural History by Edinburgh University Press.  For more information see the SHNH pages on the EUP website,

Honorary Editor: Professor Peter Davis

Associate Editors: Dr Juliet Clutton-Brock, Dr Charles Nelson and Dr Peter Barnard

Book Reviews Editor: Dr Isabelle Charmantier

• The current issue is Volume 39, no. 2 (2012)

• A cumulative index is available of the contents for the Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History and Archives of natural history.

• Subscriptions to Archives of natural history are welcomed from libraries and institutions.

• Back issues of the journals are available.

Instructions for authors

All papers submitted must be original and will be subject to peer review before acceptance for publication:the peer-review process for Archives of natural history is explained here.

The Honorary Editor [editor[at]shnh.org.uk] can advise authors about the suitability and format of papers. Papers may be submitted in typescript (two copies, double spaced throughout), but final edited copy will be requested on disc. Papers may also be submitted via email using the following email address only, please: submit2archives[at]shnh.org.uk. For instructions on preparing a paper for email submission please click here.

For more information see Instructions to authors which provide detailed information about the preparation of papers for Archives of natural history. Any paper that does not follow the style and format required for Archives of natural history, as detailed in Instructions for authors may be returned to the author(s) for modification before being considered for possible publication.

A summary of these instructions is also available - see Guidance for authors.

Authors who are not current members of the SHNH may be charged a page-fee for papers exceeding 6,000 words in length.