The Octavius Pickard-Cambridge collection of exotic Araneae is a large and significant historic collection of world spiders. Held at Oxford University Museum of Natural History, it encompasses most spider families, with material collected and studied by many prominent researchers between 1860–1917. A synopsis of the collection, its history and the main correspondents and colleagues of Pickard-Cambridge is presented, along with biographical notes on many of the people who were influential in the construction and preservation of this unique collection.