American Museum of Natural History. Department of Forestry

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Exist Dates

1881 - 1961

Biographical or Historical Note

abstract
There has never been a formal department of Botany at the American Museum of Natural History. However, throughout the museum’s history there has been botanical activity and a close association with the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) and Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Additionally, the museum curated an important collection of the woods of North America, managed by The Department for Woods and Forestry. The president’s report of 1908 outlined the subjects and divisions of science the museum was to administer; forestry and forest conservation was included in this. However, it was stated that “this, with the Jesup Wood Collection, is the only invasion of the science of Botany” the museum would enter into. (1)

Morris Ketchum Jesup (1830-1908), was President when he announced in 1881 he would fund an initiative to collect specimens of all the woods of North America. The collection, which became known as The Jesup Collection of North American Woods, was to be a branch of a new Economic Department at the museum; Jesup’s collection would focus on Economic Botany. The aim was to collect specimens that demonstrated the uses of North America’s natural resources and what they could be used for. (2) Professor Charles Sprague Sargent (1841-1927), Director of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University, was recruited to collect the specimens. Almost 500 species of wood were collected; 470 specimens by Sargent; the rest obtained by connections Jesup made with railroad and logging companies.

Funding began in 1903 for a Department of Forestry and was formally established in 1908, containing Jesup’s collection. Jesup curated it until his death in 1908, when Mary Cynthia Dickerson (1866-1923) was hired as an assistant to the collection. Dickerson was instrumental in rearranging the collection and contributed heavily to education programs for the collection and its general administration. It was a small department and whilst Dickerson was successful in obtaining funding for an assistant curator in 1916, this arrangement only lasted until December 1918 when the assistant curator, retired from the museum and was not replaced. (3)

It was often assumed the museum had a department of botany with many inquiries received during Dickerson’s time as curator asking for botanical identifications or related queries. In most cases, a reply would be sent informing the enquirer there was no botany department at the museum and their inquiry was being forwarded to the NYBG for answer. (4)

When Dickerson retired from the museum through ill-health in 1919, she was not replaced and the department ceased meaningful activity. When Frederick A. Lucas (1852-1929), director, retired in 1924, he became the honorary director and also honorary curator of the department, until his death in 1929. In 1926, he wrote a report commenting “establishment of a department devoted to the dendrology of the world” had never been contemplated and would “under existing conditions” not be advised. His report recorded the condition of the collection and the possibilities of what could be done with it as recommendations for whoever was to take over the running of it. The most significant thing to happen to the collection under Lucas’ tenure was its movement from attic of the south west wing of the museum to the attic of the school services building. (5)

It was not until 1938 that any meaningful attempt was made to reestablish the department. Clarence L. Hay (1884-1969), a trustee was appointed as honorary curator for the department on January 10, 1938. (6) With this revival, the name of the department was changed to The Department of Forestry and Conservation.

Between 1938 and 1961, when the department ceased activity permanently, it underwent many name changes and reorganization. In 1946, it became known as The Department of Forestry and General Botany, the first reference to botany at the museum since its inception in 1869. Henry Knute Svenson (1897-1986), formerly Curator of the Herbarium at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens was appointed as consultant and oversaw the planning and construction of the Landscape Hall, which was completed in 1951. In the same year, the construction began on the Hall of North American Forests, which was opened in May 1958. Another name change occurred in 1953, when it became known as The Department of Conservation and General Ecology. The department was downgraded to a special activity in 1956 and became known as the Department of Vegetation Studies.

There were plans to create a Hall of Plant Science or Botany Hall, with Dr. Erika Rawitscher appointed as Botany consultant (7). The first proposal for this came in 1954 when M. F. Buell produced a report suggesting layout and arrangement of such a hall. (8) A Botany Hall is again referenced in the annual report of 1959, when it is noted “considerable reference material was gathered for the projected Hall of Botany”. (9) This is the last time such a hall is referenced and the museum terminated its full-time staff program in Vegetation Studies in 1961, with Jack McCormick, the department head, moving to the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Ohio State University. (10)

Botanical activity was apparent at the museum despite there being no Botany department, particularly during the early to mid-twentieth century. The most common activity was the collecting of botanical specimens on expeditions and transfer of these to institutions in the New York Metro area for deposit, most notably the NYBG and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. This happened in a variety of ways; the museum would collect botanical specimens and offer them to an institution; an arrangement would be made prior to an expedition with the institution that botanical specimens collected would be transferred on or, as was the case with some expeditions, the NYBG provided a salary for a botanical collector or requested specimens to be collected, for inclusion in their collections.

The earliest example of this activity was the Jesup North Pacific Expedition. The Siberian team had collected a box a botanical specimens and upon return in 1904, these were offered to the NYBG who accepted them for their collection. (11)

The Department of Mammology was the department most active in botanical collecting and in corresponding with the NYBG regarding botanical specimens. George H. H. Tate, a curator in the department collected a large amount of botanical specimens in 1926 on the Ladew Peruvian Expedition, which was presented to the NYBG upon their return. Tate went on to collect botanical specimens on many more expeditions.

In 1934, plans were established in the Mammology department to create an ecological sub-section of the department consisting of duplicate botanical specimens from South America and Bolivia the department had collected. Advice was sought from the NYBG for identifications of the duplicates, so labels could be attached when the plants were mounted. (12) In 1981, Tate’s 638 sheets of duplicates from the Ladew Peruvian Expedition were transferred to the NYBG for permanent deposit. Henry Rusby, who had been assigned to identify and report on Tate’s collection, had died before it could be identified completely and the specimens were filed systematically with only partial identifications. Tate’s duplicate set enabled the NYBG to complete the identifications. (13)

Sources

    (1) American Museum of Natural History. 1908. 40th Annual Report of the Trustees of the American Museum of Natural History, issued May 1, 1909, p. 16.
    (2) American Museum of Natural History. 1881. 12th Annual Report of the American Museum of Natural History, February 15th, 1881, p. 5.
    (3) American Museum of Natural History Central Administrative Archive. 777 Budget files of Department for Woods and Forestry 1911-1924.
    (4) American Museum of Natural History Central Administrative Archive. 777. Budget files of Department for Woods and Forestry 1911-1924.
    (5) American Museum of Natural History Central Administrative Archive. 1203. Woods and Forestry 1925-1928.
    (6) American Museum of Natural History Central Administrative Archive. 1186.1 Clarence L. Hay March 1938
    (7) American Museum of Natural History. 1958. 90th Annual Report July, 1958, through June, 1959, p. 35.
    (8) DR080 American Museum of Natural History Department of Forestry and General Botany Papers (1949-1960), box 1 folder 4.
    (9) American Museum of Natural History. 1959. 91st Annual Report July, 1959, through June, 1960, p. 45.
    (10) American Museum of Natural History. 1960. 92nd Annual Report July, 1960, through June, 1961, p. 58.
    (11) DR091 American Museum of Natural History Jesup Wood Hall Papers, 1880-1953, box 7, folder 5.
    (12) American Museum of Natural History Department of Mammology Archive, Rusby H. H. correspondence.
    (13) American Museum of Natural History Department of Mammology Archive, The New York Botanical Garden, Folder I correspondence.

Terms

localDescription
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Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

participantIn
Anthony, H.E. (Harold Elmer), 1890-1970.
The Curator of the Department of Mammalogy, Anthony reported Tate's botanical collection from the Ladew Peruvian Expedition and suggested to George H. Sherwood, Acting Director, that the bulk of the collection be given to the New York Botanical Garden. Anthony also went on to collect botanical specimens on the Stoll-McCracken Siberian-Arctic Expedition, which were transferred to the New York Botanical Garden.
participantIn
Archbold Expedition to New Guinea
Leonard Brass was the botanical collector on this expedition, collecting specimens for the New York Botanical Garden. He collected over 15,000 specimens, mostly of flowering plants and ferns.
participantIn
Archbold, Richard, 1907-1976.
Richard Archbold funded a series of museum expeditions beginning in the 1930s to New Guinea. He was very keen for botanical specimens to be collected on these expeditions and asked Merrill, the director of the New York Botanical Garden to find a botanical collector.
participantIn
Archbold-Rand New Guinea Expedition
associated dates: 1934

The New York Botanical Garden paid the salary of $2,500 for a botanist to be recruited for this expedition, with the specimens collected sent to the garden.
participantIn
Brass, Leonard John, 1900-1971.
Brass was an Australian botanist who was recruited to collect botanical specimens on the Archbold expeditions to New Guinea; the first expedition he undertook was in 1933-1934. Archbold contacted the New York Botanical Garden to ask for assistance in hiring a botanist to collect on the expedition and Brass was recommended to Archbold by Mr. C. T. White, Government botanist in Brisbane, Australia. Brass was an experienced collector, having undertaken extenisve fieldwork in Queensland, Australia prior to the Archbold expeditions.
participantIn
British Guiana Expedition
associated dates: 1922-1923

Botanical specimens were collected on this expedition by Herbert Lang as part of a personal collection and were presented to the New York Botanical Garden by Lang for their collections.
participantIn
Britton, Nathaniel Lord, 1859-1934.
First Director of the New York Botanic Garden, Britton corresponded with museum regarding botanical specimens and exchange of materials.
participantIn
Brooklyn Botanic GardenExternal link
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden received the botanical specimens from the Whitney South Sea Expedition and it is possible they received more specimens from the AMNH.
participantIn
Chapin, James Paul, 1889-1964.
Chapin was an ornithologist involved in many museum expeditions. He collected botanical specimens in the Belgian Congo which were transferred to the New York Botanical Garden in 1953.
participantIn
Cutting-Vernay Expedition to Tibet
The purpose of this expedition was to make botanical studies and collections.
participantIn
Day Roraima Expedition
associated dates: 1927-1928

Botanical specimens were collected on this expedition and transferred to the New York Botanical Garden.
participantIn
Dickerson, Mary Cynthia, 1866-1923.
After Jesup's death in 1908, Mary Cynthia Dickerson was hired as an assistant to the Jesup Wood Hall collection and in 1911 was appointed as Curator of The Department of Woods and Forestry. During her curatoriship, the department continuted to acquire more specimens and also invested in the educational development of the collection. Dickerson retired through ill health in 1919 and was not replaced.
participantIn
Hay, Clarence L. (Clarence Leonard), 1884-1969.
Hay was a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History and in 1938 became the honorary curator of The Department of Woods and Forestry, seeking to revive the department, which had laid dormant since 1919. He was interested in rejuvinating Forestry Hall.
participantIn
Jesup North Pacific Expedition
associated dates: 1897-1903

This expedition saw teams travel to Siberia Alaska and the north west coast of Canada. Botanical specimens were collected on this expedition by the team in Siberia. These were offered to the New York Botanical Garden in 1904, who accepted the donation; the box of specimens was sent in June 1904.
participantIn
Jesup, Morris K. (Morris Ketchum), 1830-1908.
Jesup became President of the American Museum of Natural History in 1881 and served until his death in 1908. Beginning in 1881 he funded the acquisition and preaparation of nearly 500 species of wood native to North America, which he later presented to the American Museum of Natural History as The Jesup Collection of North American Woods.
participantIn
Ladew Peruvian Expedition
George Tate collected a large amount of botanical specimens on this expedition. Approximately 1,200 sheets were given to the New York Botanical Garden, with 638 sheets of duplicates kept at the museum.
participantIn
Ladew, Harvey Smith
Ladew financed the Ladew Peruvian expedition.
participantIn
Lang, Herbert, 1879-1857.
Lang was part of the British Guiana Expedition of 1922-1923. On this expedition he amassed his own personal collection of plants, which upon his return, he presented as a gift to the New York Botancial Garden.
participantIn
Lucas, Frederic A. (Frederic Augustus), 1852-1929.
Lucas was the Director of the American Museum of Natural History from 1911 until 1923. He served as honorary director from 1924 until his death in 1929 and during this period, he also served as the honorary curator for The Department of Woods and Forestry.
participantIn
McCormick, Jack.
McCormick worked as an assistant to Pough and helped with the construction of The Hall of North American Forests which opened to the public in 1958.
participantIn
Merrill, Elmer Drew, 1876-1956.
Merrill was the Director of the New York Botanical Garden from 1929 to 1935. He corresponded heavily with the museum regarding the transfer of botanical specimens from the museum to the garden.
participantIn
Moore, Barrington, 1883-1966.
Moore, a forester and forestry reseacher was the assistant curator in The Department for Woods and Forestry, hired by Mary Dickerson in 1916. Moore left the museum to fight in the First World War and then retired from the museum on December 31st, 1918. His position in the department was not filled.
participantIn
New York Botanical GardenExternal link
NYBG was an active collaborator with AMNH regarding botanical collecting and specimens. They were recipients of specimens offered to them, they co-sponsored or sponsored some museum expeditions and in some cases they hired a botanical collector to collect on their behalf.
participantIn
Pacaraima-Venezuela Expedition
NYBG was a co-sponsor of this expedition.
participantIn
Pough, Richard Hooper, 1904-2003.
Pough was the Chairman of The Department of Conservation and General Ecology. He took over the construction of the Hall of North American Forests which opened to the public in 1958.
participantIn
Puerto Rico Expedition
NYBG sponsored this expedition.
participantIn
Puerto Rico Survey
associated dates: 1915-1916

NYBG was a co-sponsor of this expedition.
participantIn
Rusby, Henry Hurd, 1855-1940.
Rusby was a botanist at the New York Botanical Garden who was involved in the transfer of the botanical specimens George Tate collected on the Ladew Peruvian expedition. He was assigned to study the collection and report on the identifications.
employedBy
Sargent, Charles Sprague, 1841-1927.
Head of Harvard University Arnold Arboretum, Sprague was employed by Morris K. Jesup to collect and prepare specimens of North American woods. He collected 470 specimens for the collection.
employedBy
Sargent, Mary, 1853-1919.
Wife of Charles Sprague Sargent, Mary was undertook to produce watercolors of the specimens Charles Sargent collected.
participantIn
Sherwood, George H.
Acting Director of the Museum in 1926, Sherwood liaised with Nathaniel Britton, the Director of the New York Botanical Garden about the transferral of botanical specimens to the Garden.
participantIn
Small, John Kunkel, 1869-1938.
Small worked with Rusby on the specimens collected by Tate on the Ladew Peruvian Expedition.
participantIn
Stoll-McCracken Siberian-Arctic Expedition
Harold Elmer Anthony, curator of the Mammology department collected botanical specimens on this expedition for the New York Botanical Garden. The garden supplied Anthony with the equipment necessary to collect.
participantIn
Svenson, Henry K. (Henry Knute), 1897-1986.
Svenson, a botanist, was appointed as a consultant in The Department of Forestry and General Botany from 1946 to 1952 and oversaw the planning and construction of the Landscape Hall.
participantIn
Tate, G.H.H. (George Henry Hamilton), 1894-1953.
Tate was a zoologist and an Assistant Curator in the Department of Mammology when he undertook to go on expeditions, brginning in the 1920s. He amassed an extensive collection of botanical specimens on the Ladew Peruvian Expedition of 1926, the majority of which was transferred to the collections of the New York Botanical Garden. He went on to collect botanical specimens on many of the expeditions he subsequently undertook.
participantIn
Tyler Duida Expedition
associated dates: 1928-1929

George Tate collected botanical specimens on this expedition, which were then given to the New York Botanical Garden.
participantIn
Vernay Nyasaaland Expedition
associated dates: 1946-1947

Botanical specimens were collected on this expedition and transferred to the New York Botanical Garden.
participantIn
Whitney South Sea Expedition
associated dates: 1920-1927

Botanical specimens were collected on this expedition and transferred to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Related Resources

other
American Museum of Natural History Department of Forestry and General Botany Papers
associated dates: 1949-1960

Creator: American Museum of Natural History. Extent: 1.5 linear feet (3 boxes). Repository: AMNH Special Collections, Call Number: DR 080
other
American Museum of Natural History Jesup Wood Hall Papers
associated dates: 1880-1953

Creator: American Museum of Natural History. Extent: 18.5 linear feet (17 boxes), 37 photographs. Repository: AMNH Special Collections, Call Number: DR 091
subjectOf
New York Botanical Garden correspondence, Folder I
Extent: 1 folder. Repository: AMNH Department of Mammology archive.
subjectOf
Britton, N. L. correspondence
associated dates: 1917-1929

Extent: 1 folder. Repository: AMNH Department of Mammology archive.
subjectOf
Rusby, H. H. correspondence
Extent: 1 folder. Repository: AMNH Department of Mammology archive.
subjectOf
Small, J. K.
Extent: 1 folder. Repository: AMNH Department of Mammology archive.

Written by: Caroline Catchpole
Last modified: 2021 June 23


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