Herbaria, i.e. collections of dried and pressed plants, have been central to the practice of botany, and hence a key discipline of the natural sciences, since the 16^th century. Focussing on a set of herbaria compiled in the early 18^th century (which form part of the HAB’s collections), this project is aimed at defining early modern herbaria as media genre and collection type. Analysing the representation of nature and the herbarium’s status as “the botanist’s memory” (Chamisso), the project will focus on concepts and cultural practices of herbaria as well as examine them as archives of historical biodiversity, and analyse their role within the wider set of natural history collections (botanical gardens, objects).