"Nepenthes rajah" was first collected for the Veitch Nurseries by Frederick William Burbidge in 1878, during his second trip to Borneo. Shortly after being introduced into cultivation in 1881, "N. rajah" proved very popular among wealthy Victorian horticulturalists and became a much sought-after species. A note in "The Gardeners' Chronicle" of 1881 mentions the Veitch plant as follows: ""N. rajah" at present is only a young Rajah, what it will become was lately illustrated in our columns...". A year later, young "N. rajah" plants were displayed at the Royal Horticultural Society's annual show for the first time. The specimen exhibited at the show by the Veitch Nurseries, the first of this species to be cultivated in Europe, won a first class certificate. In Veitch's catalogue for 1889, "N. rajah" was priced at £2.2s per plant. During this time, interest in "Nepenthes" had reached its peak. "The Garden" reported that "Nepenthes" were being propagated by the thousands to keep up with European demand.