The Special Collections of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's Montgomery Library include manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and printed material related to the history of the Garden, Col. Robert H. Montgomery, Dr. David Fairchild, and other important figures in the fields of horticulture and botany in South Florida. The Special Collections' holdings are outlined below.

• Correspondence to and from David Fairchild from 1895 to 1954: 31,055 letters.
• Documents written by David Fairchild covering tropical fruits and plants: 28,660 pages.
• Original manuscripts of published books authored by David Fairchild.
• Personal correspondence dealing with Fairchild family history: 7,085 pages.
• Original reports rendered by David Fairchild covering all of his field trips for the USDA, including photo prints: 19 volumes.
• Original manuscripts of unpublished studies made by David Fairchild from his student days to the end of his life in 1954.
• Complete record of all Allison Armour Expeditions in which David Fairchild participated as the plant scientist: 4,800 prints, all documented.
• The Ann Archbold collection of prints and negatives covering her sponsorship of the Cheng Ho Expedition to Indonesia in 1939-40 to collect plants for FTG.  David Fairchild was the expedition plant collector: 3000 negatives and prints.
• Daily pocket diaries kept by David Fairchild from 1892 to 1953: 478 volumes.
• Signed volumes of David Fairchild books, including the rare Book of Monsters.
• Original maps and charts used by David Fairchild throughout his expeditions.
• 2582 archival prints (with captions) from a collection of 7200 photo negatives taken by David Fairchild since 1895. Efforts are now underway to print the remaining negatives onto archival-quality photographic paper.
• Papers and correspondence of FTG's founder, Robert H. Montgomery, from 1932 to 1953.  Included are his early plans for a botanical garden and correspondence related to Chapman Field (a research center now operated by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture): 3000 pages.
• John Kunkel Small collection of 300 photographs taken in South Florida during the early 1920s. Printed material covering all of his work in Florida. 6000 pages.
• The entire Arthur C. Langlois collection relating to the trees and shrubs grown at the Langlois estate, "The Retreat," in Nassau, Bahamas: 9,522 pages.
• Nixon Smiley collection covering all of his activities as the Interim Director of FTG from 1953 to 1961: 4,000 pages. Complete collection of all papers covering field trips.
• Studies of South Florida trees, plants and shrubs by George Avery: 19 books and 14,283 pages of material.
• Frank Craighead collection of studies in the everglades: 23,805 pages of manuscripts and 12 boxes of color slides in excess of 2,000.
• Donovan S. Correll collection consisting of field notes used in writing his book Flora of the Bahama Archipelago. Additional manuscripts covering his studies of orchids, potatoes, Alaskan plants and work at the Arnold Arboretum, Harvard Univ: 4,671 pages of material.
• Papers covering the 27-year directorship at FTG of John Popenoe and his papers covering his scientific studies in the Bahamas.
• J. Paul Scurlock collection of photographic slides of native and exotic plants of the Florida Keys. 3800 images. Written material describing the history of and location of all the plants contained in 4 volumes.
• Complete collection of photos, glass plates, and publications of George Cellon, the first person to develop a budding technique for the production of avocados and mangos. The work was done in Miami.
• Complete collection of manuscripts written by Dent Smith, founder of the International Palm Society: 21,000 pages of material.
• Complete records of the history of the development of Fairchild Tropical Garden. 6800 pages of written material and photo prints covering all phases of Garden activity.
• Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Bulletin from 1945 to 1992 and Garden News from 1993 to date. Both publications are indexed.
• 65 blue prints covering the physical facilities of the Robbins Plant Science Building at FTG.
• Survey and aerial maps of FTG.
• 26 manuscripts covering various historical memorabilia about South Florida.