An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

National Agricultural Library
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Research Tools
  3. Manuscript Collections Search

Manuscript Collections Search

Special Collections at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Library houses manuscripts and archival records documenting the history of agriculture and the USDA from the 19th through the 21st centuries. These collections include correspondence, field notes, journals, photographs, publications, posters, and other items of individuals who worked for or were associated with the USDA, individuals involved in non-USDA agricultural activities, and organizations related to agriculture. For more information or to schedule a visit, please contact Special Collections.

Search

Displaying 251 - 275 of 469 Collections

Royal C. Steadman Watercolor Collection

The Royal C. Steadman Watercolor Collection consists of 12 watercolors of sweet potatoes and 4 watercolors of flowers. The sweet potato watercolors were painted by Steadman from 1923-25; the watercolors are 17 4/8" x 13 7/8" on cardboard 22" x 16 3/4". Specific flower information is as follows: daffodil "Mod de Graaff", specimen no. 104840, dated 3-5-1924; iris "David Teniers, specimen no. 104854, dated 3-11-1924 tulip "Baron de la Taunaye:, specimen no. an0006 (an =assigned number), dated 3-27-1924; iris "Freya", specimen no. 110120, dated 5-9-1928.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Royal Charles Steadman was born on July 23, 1875, in Portland, Maine. Among his educational credits, Steadman listed general art studies at the School of Drawing and Painting of the Museum of Fine Arts and at the Cowles Art School, both of which were located in Boston, Massachusetts. At the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, he studied jewelry design. In 1915, Steadman began his career with USDA as a pomological artist for the Bureau of Plant Industry. Using as models the live specimens sent to USDA by farmers, growers, and plant explorers, Steadman produced watercolors of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. On occasion, he also created black and white and pen and ink drawings. In addition, he constructed wax models of fruits and vegetables. He also painted watercolors of fruits which had been stored at cool temperatures, showing the effects of freezing and cold storage on plant tissues. Certainly, Steadman was a versatile artist. Prior to his employment with USDA, he was the head jewelry designer for a commercial firm. He had also designed stage scenery and served as an instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design. While employed by USDA, Steadman pursued other artistic endeavors in his spare time. For Amanda Newton, he painted a portrait of her grandfather, Isaac Newton, a former commissioner of agriculture. He also created paintings of historical scenes. And, he submitted several designs for postage stamps to the postmaster general. In 1920, Steadman was promoted to botanical artist. And, he remained with USDA until his retirement in 1941.
Collection Number: 258
Earliest Date: 1923
Latest Date: 1928
Linear Feet: 3
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Plant Science
Formats: Agricultural Art and Memorabilia
Digitization Status: None

American Dairy Goat Association Records

The American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) Records include registration records of dairy goats, meeting minutes, and publications. The majority of the collection consists of ADGA office records organized alphabetically by goat herd name, then by goat name. Cards include information on registration number, owners, breeders, records of transfer, and additional categories. Animal owners retain the official registration certificate. Also included are publications of the American Dairy Goat Association, the American Milk Goat Record Association, and the Nubian Milk Goat Register. Information in the collection is useful for researchers to track pedigrees.
Collection Number: 259
Collection Group: Dairy Science Collections
Earliest Date: 1914
Latest Date: 2000
Bulk Dates: 1928-1950
Linear Feet: 69
Processed: Yes, view the finding aid online.
Subjects: Agricultural Organizations; Animal Science
Digitization Status: None

Agricultural Marketing Service and Farm Market Photograph Collection

The Agricultural Marketing Service and Farm Market Photograph Collection consists primarily of slides of farm markets and associated marketing and transportation activities throughout the United States, with a few examples from foreign countries.
Collection Number: 260
Earliest Date: 1959
Latest Date: 1984
Bulk Dates: 1960s-1970s
Linear Feet: 11.5
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Economics; Farms and Farming Systems
Formats: Photographs
Digitization Status: None

Wilbur Olin Atwater Papers

The Wilbur Olin Atwater Papers contain correspondence, photographs, publications, and data sheets related to Atwater's research in the chemical composition of foods, dietary studies, and the respiration calorimeter.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Wilbur Olin Atwater (1844-1907) was the first Chief of the Office of Experiment Stations, U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1888, and the first person in the United States to conduct chemical analysis of food. As a special agent in charge of USDA nutrition programs beginning in 1891, he developed plans for experiments in the areas of food nutrition, the effects of food processing on nutrient changes, food consumption studies, and human nutrient requirements and metabolism.
Collection Number: 261
Earliest Date: 1865
Latest Date: 1993
Bulk Dates: 1893-1904
Linear Feet: 9
Processed: Yes, view the finding aid online.
Subjects: Human Nutrition; USDA History
Formats: Photographs
Digitization Status: None

Rudolph Wendelin Collection of Smokey Bear Paintings

The Rudolph Wendelin Collection of Smokey Bear Paintings is composed of 19 oil, acrylic, and/or watercolor paintings ranging in size from 18"x24" to 24"x26."
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Rudolph Wendelin (1910-2000), a sculptor, painter, and illustrator, worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1933 until his retirement in 1973. Although he was not the creator of Smokey Bear, Wendelin helped establish the first campaign and coordinate the art material. During his career, he made significant developments toward humanizing the Smokey image with the addition of blue jeans, a forest ranger hat, and a shovel, as well as softening the lines of Smokey's face, thus contributing to the bear's success as one of the most recognizable figures in American culture. He also made the first animated television drawings of Smokey, which synchronized voice with the movements of mouth. By retirement, Wendelin had designed six postage stamps and received many honors. After his retirement, he continued to produce images of Smokey Bear for the Advertising Council and other outlets, including these 19 oil paintings, many of which served as the original artwork for calendars.
Collection Number: 262
Earliest Date: 1977
Latest Date: 1996
Bulk Dates: 1977-96
Linear Feet: 12
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Forestry
Formats: Agricultural Art and Memorabilia
Digitization Status: Entire collection digitized

Franklin Benjamin Hough Papers

The Franklin Benjamin Hough Papers consist of handwritten correspondence, agreements, and memoranda. Much of the correspondence deals with forestry matters, and, specifically, a paper that Hough presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 1873 on "The Duty of Governments in the Preservation of Forests." His study revealed that forests were beneficial to climate, streamflow, and soil, and argued that it was necessary to preserve and renew forests. The address triggered a national forest-preservation movement and lobbying effort backed by AAAS. In response, Congress approved funding in 1876 for a federal forestry expert within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Hough was appointed to the position soon after.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Franklin Benjamin Hough (1822-1885) was the first physician in Lewis County, New York; forest commissioner, USDA, from 1876-1881, and the chief of the Division of Forestry, USDA, from 1881-1883.
Collection Number: 263
Earliest Date: 1870
Latest Date: 1884
Bulk Dates: 1876-77
Linear Feet: 2
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Forestry; Natural Resources; Physical Sciences; USDA History
Digitization Status: None

Romeyn Beck Hough Papers

The Romeyn Beck Hough Papers include Hough's journals from 1882-1887, 1890-1894, 1898-1900; a July 6, 1908, letter to Hough from Melvil Dewey requesting Hough's book Handbook of the Trees of the Northern States and Canada; and an undated statement made by Dewey, President of the American Library Institute, commending Hough’s book at a meeting of the Virginia State Library Association.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Romeyn Beck Hough (1857-1924), son of Franklin Benjamin Hough, was a naturalist, author, and businessman in the state of New York. In 1888 he published the first volume of a series of 12 books titled American Woods, which contained the native and naturalized species of woods in the United States and Canada. These volumes were unique in that they included samples of wood as illustrations. Hough also devised a machine for cutting wood sections with thicknesses of 1/10 to 1/1,200 of an inch. In the scientific world, American Woods was well-received and won numerous awards, including the grand prize at the Paris Exposition in 1889. Subsequently, Hough produced another book, Handbook of the Trees of the Northern States and Canada, containing photographic and textual descriptions of 208 kinds of trees found in Canada and in the Eastern United States. To do research for these publications, Hough traveled frequently and kept journals of his activities.
Collection Number: 264
Earliest Date: 1882
Latest Date: 1908
Bulk Dates: 1882-1900
Linear Feet: 0.5
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Forestry; Natural Resources
Digitization Status: None

Clarence Joseph Enzler Papers

The Clarence Joseph Enzler Papers include speeches and testimonies of former Secretaries of Agriculture, including Henry A. Wallace, Henry Claude Wickard, Clinton Anderson, Charles Brannan, Ezra Taft Benson, Orville L. Freeman, and Clifford Hardin. There are also speeches and testimonies of Assistant Secretaries Ervin L. Peterson, J. Earl Coke, John P. Duncan, Jr., George L. Mehren, Trienah Meyers, Joseph M. Robertson, and under secretaries Norris Dodd, J. Phil Campbell, and John A. Schnittker. Also included are miscellaneous speeches of U.S. Presidents and congressional figures, and press releases.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Clarence Joseph Enzler (1910-1976), an accomplished speech-writer and speaker, worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 1937-1972, leaving the department briefly from 1943-1945 to serve as the feature editor with the National Catholic Welfare Conference News Service. During his USDA career he worked in the Resettlement Administration, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, the Office of Information, and the Office of the Secretary. He assisted the Secretaries of Agriculture and other top USDA officials in the preparation of speeches, magazine articles, congressional testimony, annual reports and other informational material. He prepared speeches for eight Secretaries of Agriculture. A prolific author, he had articles published in many national magazines and wrote a spiritual and philosophical book titled My Other Self.
Collection Number: 265
Earliest Date: 1936
Latest Date: 1972
Linear Feet: 16.5
Processed: Yes, view the finding aid online.
Subjects: USDA History
Digitization Status: None

Alfred H. Baumhover Papers: Screwworm Eradication Program Records

The Alfred H. Baumhover: Screwworm Eradication Program Records include reports, correspondence, publications, public information materials, photographs, awards, notes, and artifacts.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Alfred H. Baumhover (b. 1921) was integral to the screwworm eradication program in its early stages and continued to advise the program for many years. Baumhover, an entomologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is best known for his contributions to the screwworm eradication programs of the 1950s and 1960s. He began his career in 1949 in the USDA Grasshopper Control Division and worked with Raymond Bushland in Texas on various farm pests. Bushland and Edward F. Knipling were preparing to begin field experimentation on the sterile insect technique. Baumhover became the lead field agent of these experiments, which primarily targeted the screwworm. In 1954 he led the experiment in Curacao that eradicated screwworms from the island. For his efforts, he was conferred knighthood by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. Baumhover also worked on the eradication programs in the Southeast and Southwest United States. Although he continued to advise the screwworm program throughout his career, Baumhover worked primarily with tobacco insect research from 1963 until his retirement.
Collection Number: 266
Collection Group: Screwworm Eradication Program Records
Earliest Date: 1949
Latest Date: 1997
Bulk Dates: 1950-1970
Linear Feet: 17
Processed: Yes, view the finding aid online.
Subjects: Entomology; USDA History
Formats: Agricultural Art and Memorabilia; Photographs
Digitization Status: Portion of collection digitized

Hazel Katherine Stiebeling Papers

The Hazel Katherine Stiebeling Papers consist of articles on nutrition, articles written by or about Dr. Hazel Stiebeling, biographies of other nutrition professionals, awards and honors received by Dr. Stiebeling, a family history, and a compilation of biographical and autobiographical materials about Dr. Stiebeling assembled by Deborah Parry Dale in 1989. The collection also includes photographs of Dr. Stiebeling, significant events during her career, and award ceremonies. There are also a few photographs and color slides of agricultural research staff and other nutrition professionals.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Hazel Katherine Stiebeling (1896-1989) became the head of USDA’s Section of Food Economics in 1930. During her career, she pioneered the application of sample survey methods to national nutrition problems in order to understand the food habits of population groups. In the 1930s, she helped devise an emergency plan for feeding the victims of severe droughts in the southern United States. Her research and interest in diet deficiencies in the United States led to the development of school lunch programs, as well as programs promoting the increased consumption of milk, fresh fruit, and green vegetables. Dr. Stiebeling became Chief of USDA’s Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics in 1944. She served as Director of Home Economics Research from 1953 to 1957, then as Director of the Institute of Home Economics from 1957 to 1961. She was the Deputy Administrator of the Agricultural Research Service from 1961 until her retirement in 1963. The recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees throughout her career, Dr. Stiebeling earned bachelor’s (1919) and master’s degrees (1924) in nutrition from Columbia University Teachers’ College. She completed her Ph.D. in chemistry at Columbia in 1928.
Collection Number: 267
Earliest Date: 1919
Latest Date: 1990
Linear Feet: 2
Processed: Yes, view the finding aid online.
Subjects: Human Nutrition
Formats: Photographs
Digitization Status: None

National Institute for Farm Safety (NIFS) Collection

The National Institute for Farm Safety (NIFS) Collection consists of miscellaneous articles and brochures on farm safety. There are also materials from NIFS meetings.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
In 1945, the National Institute for Farm Safety (NIFS) was created by a member of the National Safety Council who invited state farm safety specialists to yearly meetings to discuss ways to improve farm safety. Prior to 1937 little was published on the subject.
Collection Number: 268
Earliest Date: 1941
Latest Date: 1986
Bulk Dates: 1967-1986
Linear Feet: 16.25
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Farms and Farming Systems
Digitization Status: None

USDA Plan Exchange Records

The USDA Plan Exchange Records consist of plans for agricultural structures and low-cost housing and was the result of the collective work of plan exchange engineers at land-grant universities. Each plan has a date and number.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supported the development of farm building plans beginning in 1915. The Plan Exchange was formed in 1930 to maximize the use and sharing of building plans. Plans were housed in various offices of the research arm of the USDA. In 1979 management and financial responsibility was transferred to the USDA Extension Service. In 1982 the USDA Extension Service invited state extension services to bid on a contract to provide Plan Exchange headquarters services. The University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service won the contract and provided the service until 1988. As of 1988, the program was no longer funded by the USDA Extension Service.
Collection Number: 269
Earliest Date: 1933
Latest Date: 1988
Linear Feet: 1.25
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Farms and Farming Systems; USDA History
Formats: Agricultural Art and Memorabilia
Digitization Status: None

Walter W. Sadler Papers: American Poultry Historical Society Papers

The Walter W. Sadler Papers consist of reprints of 55 of Sadler's published papers. Sadler published a variety of journal articles and essays on topics such as the hatchability of poultry eggs, pasteurization of milk, care of bats, salmonella in turkeys, avian diseases, animal-borne infections, and food-borne diseases of animal origin, to name only a few.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Walter W. Sadler attended the School of Veterinary Medicine at the Texas College of Agriculture and Mechanics. In 1951 he began working at the University of California, Davis, as an associate professor of veterinary public health, in the School of Veterinary Medicine Agricultural Experimental Station. This position combined his interests in avian medicine and public health with investigations on poultry diseases that can be transmitted to humans, either directly or through the food chain. He received a master's degree in public health at the University of California, Berkeley, focusing on food microbiology.
Collection Number: 270
Collection Group: Poultry Science Collections
Earliest Date: 1953
Latest Date: 1971
Linear Feet: 0.25
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Agricultural Organizations; Poultry
Formats: Reprints
Digitization Status: None

Lee Frederick Schrader Collection: American Poultry Historical Society Papers

The Lee Frederick Schrader Collection contains more than 800 reports, booklets, and reprints of economic studies concerning the poultry industry. The collection covers major categories of the industry, including eggs, broilers, turkeys, and hatcheries. An author's index file is also included, which details the co-authors, the scope of each study, and where it was conducted.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Lee Frederick Schrader was an agricultural economics professor at Purdue University for over 30 years.
Collection Number: 271
Collection Group: Poultry Science Collections
Earliest Date: 1950
Latest Date: 1996
Linear Feet: 10
Processed: Yes, view the finding aid online.
Subjects: Agricultural Organizations; Poultry
Digitization Status: None

Richard D. Reynnells Collection: American Poultry Historical Society Papers

The Richard D. Reynnells Collection contains correspondence, meeting notes, photographs, unpublished papers, breeder management guides, conference proceedings, and articles pertaining to the mission of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service at the state, regional and national levels during the 1980s and 1990s. Much of the material is related to poultry workshops and symposia, including documents regarding planning, locations, publicity, programs, speakers, proceedings, and recommendations made by the participants.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Richard D. Reynnells is the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Program Leader for Poultry Science and a member of the Board of Directors for the American Poultry Historical Society.
Collection Number: 272
Collection Group: Poultry Science Collections
Earliest Date: 1957
Latest Date: 1999
Linear Feet: 32.75
Processed: Yes, view the finding aid online.
Subjects: Agricultural Organizations; Poultry
Digitization Status: None

USDA Poultry and Livestock Photograph Collection

The USDA Poultry and Livestock Photograph Collection, contains 26 albums with photographs of poultry, sheep, swine, cattle, and other livestock. Grouped by subject, many of the photographs were taken at the Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland, from 1906-1950--most from 1910-1935. The albums also include lithographs from the mid-19th century.
Collection Number: 273
Earliest Date: 1842
Latest Date: 1950
Linear Feet: 30
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Animal Science; Poultry; USDA History
Formats: Photographs
Digitization Status: Portion of collection digitized

USDA Drug and Poisonous Plant Investigations Photograph Collection

The USDA Drug and Poisonous Plant Investigations Photograph Collection consists of black and white lantern slides of research projects conducted by the Drug and Poisonous Plant Investigations division of the Bureau of Plant Industry. Some of the slides feature images of medicinal plant gardens at various institutions across the United States. Other subjects include drug plant field plots at the USDA South Farm in Beltsville, Maryland; drug plant specimens; distribution charts of plant species; and a few color slides of paintings of drug plants. Images of poisonous plant research mainly depict effects of plant poisons on livestock. Most of these slides show livestock that have ingested toxic plants. Many include labels containing the scientific name of the plant, the animal type, animal number, and the date and time of photograph. Sequences of photos follow the course of a particular animal's reaction to a plant toxin. A few of the slides show poisonous plants in their native landscapes. Some images show charts, tables, and figures related to poisonous plant research. The collection also includes a set of images taken at various botanic gardens in the United States and other countries. These images show garden plans, features, and plant specimens.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
The USDA's Bureau of Plant Industry consolidated its medical and poisonous plant research in 1905 under the Division of Drug and Poisonous Plant Investigations. Botanist Rodney H. True directed this research. Among the division's goals was to promote cultivation of medicinal plants in the United States in order to rely less on imported plants. Division scientists studied the culture of belladonna, digitalis, stramonium, hyoscyamus, aconite, arnica, licorice, and opium poppy. They developed small field plots in different geographic areas to observe the influence of climate and latitude on plant growth and on the production of the plants' active substances. State experiment stations were located at Puyallup, Washington, and Burlington, Vermont. Experiments were also conducted on the Potomac Flats and Arlington Farm.
Collection Number: 274
Collection Group: Plant Photograph Collections
Earliest Date: 1902
Latest Date: 1943
Linear Feet: 5
Processed: Yes, view the finding aid online.
Subjects: Plant Science; USDA History
Formats: Photographs
Digitization Status: None

Gifford Pinchot Photograph Collection

The Gifford Pinchot Photograph Collection approximately 30 glass negatives of Gifford Pinchot. The activities depicted include Pinchot operating a movie projector, fishing, working at his desk, and participating in a ceremony for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Negatives are numbered. Glass negatives are undated, but may be from 1923-1935.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946) was the fourth Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. Born in Simsbury, Connecticut, he was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University. After his graduation from Yale in 1889, he went to Europe to study forestry, since it was not offered as a course of study at any university in the United States at the time. Pinchot worked in several countries during his time in Europe, but his most notable stop was at L'Ecole Nationale Foretière in Nancy, France. He returned to the United States in 1892. Upon his return, Pinchot did forestry work at Biltmore, the George W. Vanderbilt estate, in North Carolina. Pinchot’s career in forestry was highly decorated. In the early 1900s, he helped found the School of Forestry at Yale, where he was a professor from 1903-1936. Furthermore, he was also the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service from 1898-1910, serving under three Presidents. Pinchot and President Theodore Roosevelt, both staunch conservationists, put forth policies that helped protect the nation’s natural resources. In addition to his duties with the Forest Service, Pinchot was an author. His most distinguished works were his Primer for Forestry (1899), The Fight for Conservation (1909), and Breaking New Ground (1947). Pinchot also had a career in politics. He served two separate terms as Governor of Pennsylvania (1923-1927, 1931-1935), the home of his father James's family, and the location of the family's country estate, "Grey Towers."
Collection Number: 275
Earliest Date: 1898
Latest Date: 1910
Linear Feet: 0.75
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Forestry
Formats: Photographs
Digitization Status: None

USDA Engineering Division Personnel Photograph Collection

The USDA Engineering Division Personnel Photograph Collection consists of a photograph album of Engineering Division personnel, including both group and individual shots. Photographs were taken in March 1924 and include staff of Research, Engineering, Grazing, Forest Management, District 7, Operation, Public Relations, Lands, Forester and Branch Chiefs, and Finance and Accounts.
Collection Number: 276
Earliest Date: 1912
Latest Date: 1940
Linear Feet: 2.25
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: USDA History
Formats: Photographs

USDA Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Division of Land Economics Records [?]

The USDA Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Division of Land Economics Records [?] consist of reports, correspondence, and publications relating to the work of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, probably the Division of Land Economics. Most of the material is the product of Bureau or Division, though some was produced by the Land Utilization Division of the Resettlement Administration. Topics include general land policy and policy planning, zoning, settlement patterns, local land utilization studies, tenancy and land ownership, and water projects.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
The Bureau of Agricultural Economics was established in 1922 and included the Land Economics Division. The Division was abolished in 1953. The Land Utilization Division functions of the Resettlement Administration were transferred to USDA Bureau of Agricultural Economics in 1937.
Collection Number: 277
Earliest Date: 1914
Latest Date: 1955
Bulk Dates: 1934-1952
Linear Feet: 6.25
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Economics; Natural Resources; USDA History
Digitization Status: None

Botanic Garden Photograph Collection (merged with MS 274)

The Botanic Garden Photograph Collection consists of color and black and white lantern slides of U.S. and international botanic gardens and includes landscape and interior views, selected plant specimens, and garden design diagrams. Featured U.S. gardens are the Missouri Botanic Garden, the National Botanic Garden and the National Arboretum, Golden Gate Park, and New York Botanic Garden. International gardens include Botanischer Garten Berlin-Dahlem; Botanic Garden, Tokyo; Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, England; and Quinta Normal, Santiago, Chile.
Collection Number: 278
Collection Group: Plant Photograph Collections
Earliest Date: 1910
Latest Date: 1922
Linear Feet: 2
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Plant Science
Formats: Photographs
Digitization Status: None

Poisonous Plants Photograph Collection (merged with MS 274)

The Poisonous Plants Photograph Collection contains black and white lantern slides of different species of livestock suffering from plant poisons. Most slides feature livestock that have been poisoned and/or include scientific name of poisonous plant species, animal type, animal number, and date and time of photograph. These captions allow the viewer to follow the course of a particular animal's reaction to a plant toxin. A few slide images show landscapes. A few images show livestock, but do not specify a plant poisoning. Some images include charts, tables and figures related to poisonous plant research.
Collection Number: 279
Collection Group: Plant Photograph Collections
Earliest Date: 1907
Latest Date: 1925
Linear Feet: 2.5
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Plant Science
Formats: Photographs
Digitization Status: None

Collection of Expedition Photographs from the Office of Plant Exploration

The Collection of Expedition Photographs from the Office of Plant Exploration consists of lantern slides and negatives of three U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant-collecting expeditions: a trip to Southeast Asia and China in the latter half of 1922 possibly by J. F. Rock; a forage and fruit-collecting trip to Germany and the Soviet Union from July to September 1929 by H. L. Westover and W. E. Whitehouse; and an expedition to Caucasus (now part of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and some of Russia including Chechnya), Turkestan (in current Uzbekistan), and Siberia from 1910-1911 by Frank E. Meyer. Lantern slides are mostly black and white. In 2002, the Arnold Arboretum donated 300 to 500 black and white photographs and negatives related to Palemon Howard Dorsett. Those photographs and negatives relating to the Dorsett-Morse Oriental Agricultural Exploration Expedition, which took place between 1929 and 1931, were separated and placed in the Dorsett-Morse Oriental Agricultural Exploration Expedition Collection. Most of the envelopes contain detailed descriptions including subject, date, place, and photographer. The dates range from 1914 to 1945, with the bulk being from 1924 to 1930. The subject matter is plants and landscapes. The geographic areas include China, Japan, Korea, the Soviet Union, Spain, Africa, Mexico, Central and South America. Among the photographers are Dorsett, Piemeisal, Kephart, Whitehouse, Westover, Ryerson, Archer, McMullan, Polhamus, Muller, and Erlanson.
Collection Number: 280
Collection Group: Plant Exploration Collections
Earliest Date: 1910
Latest Date: 1945
Linear Feet: 4.5
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Plant Exploration
Formats: Photographs
Digitization Status: None

Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation Records

The Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation Records include correspondence, agreements, minutes, financial records, briefing books, and publications and reports produced by the foundation.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
The Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation was formally organized on November 4, 1985, when the bylaws were adopted and a memorandum of agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Riley Foundation was signed by then-Secretary of Agriculture John Block and the first president of the Board of Directors of the Riley Foundation, John Gordon. Its stated purpose is "to promote a broader and more complete understanding of agriculture as the most basic human endeavor, . . . To make secure the lever that is agriculture and its fulcrum, the natural environment, during this and succeeding generations, [and]. . . To facilitate the exchange of disparate views between individuals and groups and to make these views more apparent to the public at large without being an advocate for any particular point of view."
Collection Number: 281
Earliest Date: 1985
Latest Date: 2012
Bulk Dates: 1985-2001
Linear Feet: 2.5
Processed: Yes, view the finding aid online.
Subjects: Agricultural Organizations; Entomology

Lillian Meyer Cookbook Collection

The Lillian Meyer Cookbook Collection consists of 450 American and international cookbooks. An index has been created for the collection.
Historical or Biographical Sketch
The collection of cookbooks was assembled by Lillian Eugene Nicholson Meyer, born in 1917 in Missouri and died May 11, 1983. Lillian, who was known as "Jean," was the wife of Dr. Frederick G. Meyer, who served as a research botanist at the U.S. National Arboretum from 1958-1991. Jean was an author and botanical illustrator. In both her art and her cooking, she demonstrated her interest in herbs, and the collection is particularly strong in that regard. She passed away suddenly while she was creating the illustrations for A Pompeian Herbal by Wilhelmina Feenster Jashemski, a colleague of her husband's. While traveling, Jean and Frederick purchased cookbooks from different regions of the United States and the world. Many of the cookbooks contain Jean's recipe annotations and comments.
Collection Number: 282
Earliest Date: 1820
Latest Date: 1983
Bulk Dates: 1970-1980
Linear Feet: 24.75
Processed: No, contact Special Collections.
Subjects: Human Nutrition
Digitization Status: None