Ferns of Huntington, Long Island, collected and printed by Ella J. C. Hurd
Scope and Contents
46 cyanotypes of ferns printed by Ella Hurd, circa 1890-1900. Most of the ferns were collected by Ella Hurd from Huntington, Long Island. Some of the ferns were collected in West Palm Beach, Florida. Also includes cyanotypes of European ferns that were printed but not collected by Mrs. Hurd. Specimens identified on back of prints.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1890-1900?
Creator
- Hurd, Ella J. C., 1843-1917 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is available by appointment for research. Researchers must register and provide one form of valid photo identification. Please contact botref@oeb.harvard.edu for additional information.
Extent
0.4 linear feet (3 flat boxes) : 46 cyanotypes and original scrapbook binding ; cyanotypes 36 cm; original scrapbook 44 cmBiographical / Historical
Ella J. C. Hurd was born Ella Jayne Conklin in Huntington, New York in 1843 to the Conklin family of colonial New England. She married Arthur T. Hurd in 1890. Ella was interested in natural history and studied ferns. In 1911, Ella donated the David Conklin Farmhouse to the Huntington Historical Society in Long Island, New York. She lived in Florida before her death in April 1917 and was buried in Huntington Rural Cemetery.
Sources
1917. American Fern Society. American Fern Journal. 7:97.
Huntington Historical Society. 1998. Index to the Huntington Rural Cemetery. Website (http://longislandgenealogy.com/HuntingtonRuralCemIndex.pdf). Accessed Feb 2019.
Huntington Historical Society. 2015. History of HHS. Website (https://huntingtonhistoricalsociety.org/about/history-of-hhs/).
Accessed Feb 2019.
Long Island Genealogy. Long Islander Marriages 1878-1900. Website (http://longislandgenealogy.com/1891/Marriages/Grooms_HI.html). Accessed Feb 2019.
Arrangement
The cyanotypes were originally housed in a large scrapbook. The cyanotypes were removed from the scrapbook and are stored in individual folders in Boxes 1 and 2. The original binding has been retained and is boxed separately in Box 3.
Provenance
Given to the Gray Herbarium June 1, 1920 by Lucy M. Brigham in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Watermarks
The conservation evaluation revealed that several of the sheets have partial watermarks reading "Keuffel & Esser Co. * Colum..."
Keuffel & Esser Co. was an American manufacturer of drafting supplies based out of New York. Columbia paper was a type of blueprint paper, which came either "prepared" or "unprepared" in rolls of varying sizes and thicknesses. It is likely that Hurd purchased "prepared" blueprint paper, and cut sheets from the roll (evidenced by the uneven cut edges and pencil guides on several of the prints) to create her fern cyanotypes. Supply catalogs indicate the paper was likley introduced sometime between 1893 and 1900.
Variant title
April 2021, the collection title was changed to include Ella Hurd's full name. Former collection title: Ferns of Huntington, Long Island, collected and printed by Mrs. Hurd.
Conservation note
Harvard Weissman Preservation Center staff conserved and rehoused the collection in the fall of 2021.
Digitization note
The collection was digitized by the Harvard College Library Digital Imaging Group in fall 2021 as part of the "Nature Prints from the Botany Libraries" project.
Exhibition history
Four cyanotypes and the scrapbook binding were displayed in the Harvard Art Museum exhibition "White Shadows" in 2022.
Processing Information
Processed by Catherine Adam, 2019 February.
Genre / Form
Creator
- Hurd, Ella J. C., 1843-1917 (Person)
- Title
- Hurd, Ella J. C., 1843-1917. Ferns of Huntington, Long Island, collected and printed by Ella J. C. Hurd: A Guide.
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Botany Libraries, Gray Herbarium Library, Harvard University.
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- gra00081
Repository Details
Part of the Botany Libraries, Gray Herbarium Library, Harvard University Repository
The Harvard University Herbaria houses five research libraries that are managed collectively as the Botany Libraries. The Gray Herbarium Library specializes in the identification and classification of New World plants with emphasis on North American plants. The Archives of the Gray Herbarium houses unique resources including personal papers, institutional records, field notes and plant lists, expedition records, photographs, original artwork, and objects from faculty, curators, staff, and affiliates of the Gray Herbarium.
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