Harvard University. Herbaria

Scope and Contents: The collection consists of Gray Herbarium correspondence from the 1890s to present day but the bulk of the letters are from 1890-1955. Also includes Harvard University Herbaria correspondence. Most of the letters are addressed to staff members and were transferred to the archives from office files. Some letters were gifts to the Gray Herbarium or Harvard University Herbaria that were interfiled into the collection. The letters are from amateur and professional botanists,...

Overview:

The Arnold Arboretum is a living museum that is co-managed by Harvard University and the City of Boston. In the 1950s a large portion of the Arboretum’s library and specimens were transferred to the Harvard University Herbaria in Cambridge. Some people disagreed with this decision, and sued Harvard over the move. The legal dispute has been nicknamed “The Arnold Arboretum Controversy.”

This collection includes publications by the Arboretum and material about the controversy.

Scope and content:

The collection consists of original mounted specimen labels from various collectors and projects and range from 1871-1978. Many of the labels are from the Farlow Herbarium and Arnold Arboretum. Collectors with the largest number of labels are: Leonard John Brass, Hsin-hsuan Chung, William Gilson Farlow, David Hunt Linder, Cyrus Guernsey Pringle, Arthur Bliss Seymour, Julian Alfred Steyermark, and Roland Thaxter.