Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers 1907-1977 WHE Finding Aid Prepared by Lindsay Friedman
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Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers 1907-1977 WHE Finding aid prepared by Lindsay Friedman This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit June 14, 2017 Describing Archives: A Content Standard The Barnes Foundation Archives 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19130 Telephone: (215) 278-7280 Email: [email protected] Barnes Foundation Archives 2010 Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers 1907-1977 WHE Table of Contents Summary Information ................................................................................................................................. 3 Biographical Note.......................................................................................................................................... 4 Scope and Content.........................................................................................................................................5 Administrative Information .........................................................................................................................5 Related Materials ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................6 Collection Inventory...................................................................................................................................... 8 Series I. Correspondence......................................................................................................................... 8 Series II. Writings..................................................................................................................................10 Series III. Reprints.................................................................................................................................19 Series IV. Photographs.......................................................................................................................... 31 Series V. Miscellaneous........................................................................................................................ 32 - Page 2 - Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers 1907-1977 WHE Summary Information Repository Barnes Foundation Archives Creator Wherry, Edgar Theodore, 1885-1982 Title Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers Date 1907-1977 Extent 2.5 Linear feet Language English Abstract This collection consists of correspondence, writings, and research, written and collected by Dr. Edgar Theodore Wherry, geologist, botanist, assistant curator of mineralogy at the U.S. National Museum, crystallographer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of Pennsylvania professor, and instructor at the Arboretum School of the Barnes Foundation. Preferred Citation [Description of item], [date]. Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers, Barnes Foundation Archives, Philadelphia, PA. Reprinted with permission. - Page 3 - Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers 1907-1977 WHE Biographical Note Edgar Theodore Wherry was born on September 10, 1885, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating from the Friends Central School in 1902, he received a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry in 1906 and a Ph.D. in Geology- Mineralogy in 1909. He taught for five years as an assistant professor in the Geological Department of Lehigh University. In 1913, he became the assistant curator of mineralogy at the U.S. National Museum in Washington, D.C. During his time in Washington, he began working with the Wild Flower Preservation Society and taught himself the principles of botany. He started exploring theories of soil chemistry in relation to plant growth. Dr. Wherry’s work with ferns and their “relationship to their geological-chemical environment” became the topic of many of his publications, and the focus of his membership and subsequent presidency of the American Fern Society from 1934 to 1938. Wherry published three key guides to the ferns of North America: Guide to Eastern Ferns in 1937, The Fern Guide in 1961, and The Southern Fern Guide in 1964. Wherry was a professor of botany at the University of Pennsylvania from 1930-1955, and in 1932 he was appointed ecologist to the Morris Arboretum. He also taught soil science, plant physiology, plant ecology, and taxonomy at the Arboretum School of the Barnes Foundation from 1941 to 1950, and again from 1953 to 1957. He is credited with discovering the mineral Wherryite, as well as several plants, including Asplenium xtrudellii, Microgramma heterophylla, Sarracenia oreophila, and Sarracenia jonesii. Plants named in honor of Dr. Wherry include Tiarella wherryi, Spilene wherryi , and Dryopteris wherryi. Wherry was awarded professor emeritus status upon his retirement from University of Pennsylvania in 1955. He was also awarded the Mary Soper Pope Medal by the Cranbrook Institute of Science in 1964 for his achievements in plant research. Dr. Wherry worked closely with many botanical organizations, such as the Bowmanes Hill State Wild Flower Preserve, the American Rock Garden Society, the Delaware Valley Chapter of the American Rock Garden Society, and the Delaware Valley Fern Society. Sources 1 John Milton Fogg. “Edgar Wherry in Pennsylvania.” American Fern Journal 66 (1976): 33-38. 2 Marjorie Hooker and Arthur Montgomery. “Edgar Theodore Wherry.” American Mineralogist 60 (1975): 539-539. 3 Van Atta, Burr. "Obituary of Edgar Theodore Wherry." Philadelphia Inquirer, May 25, 1982. - Page 4 - Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers 1907-1977 WHE Scope and Content This collection ranges in date from 1907 to 1977, and consists of correspondence, writings, photographs, and journal reprints written and collected by Dr. Edgar Theodore Wherry The correspondence series consists primarily of letters to Dr. Wherry and includes correspondence with botanists, students, departments of botany, and herbaria from 1955-1975. Subjects include the collection and identification of various plant specimens, including phlox. The writings series includes drafts of articles, a glossary of terms, and identification keys created by Dr. Wherry and others. Drafts are generally corrected typescript or carbon copies, and notes are generally in manuscript. Some writings are in the form of clippings from journals, and some in complete journal issues. Subjects include phlox, ferns, shale-barrens, and wild flowers. The reprints series includes journal articles collected by Dr. Wherry for research, a biography of Dr. Wherry, his doctoral thesis, and reprints identified as “give aways.” Subjects include, ferns, phlox, polemoniaceae, shale-barrens, rock gardens. Three photographs are collected in the photograph series. The miscellaneous series contains a geological map of Pennsylvania. Administrative Information Publication Information Barnes Foundation Archives 2010 Access Restrictions This collection is open for research to qualified researchers by appointment only. Please contact the Archives and Library Department for information on access and research. Use Restrictions Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers are the physical property of The Barnes Foundation Archives. The Foundation holds literary rights only for material created by staff of the Foundation and material given to the Foundation with such rights specifically assigned. For all other material, literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for determining the identity of rights holders and obtaining their permission for publication and for other purposes where stated. - Page 5 - Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers 1907-1977 WHE Acquisition Information These records were housed in storage in the Arboretum House of the Barnes Foundation prior to processing. Processed By Lindsay Friedman. Finding aid written by Lindsay Friedman, November 2010. Related Materials Related Collections • John Milton Fogg Papers, Barnes Foundation Archives, Philadelphia, PA. • Newsletter of the Arboretum of the Barnes Foundation. Merion, Pa: Arboretum of the Barnes Foundation, 1968-1979. Barnes Foundation Archives, Philadelphia, PA. Controlled Access Headings Corporate Name(s) • Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia • Barnes Foundation. Arboretum • University of Pennsylvania. Morris Arboretum • Wherry, Edgar Theodore, 1885-1982 Genre(s) • Correspondence • Reprints Geographic Name(s) - Page 6 - Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers 1907-1977 WHE • Bucks (Pa. : County) • Lower Merion (Pa. : Township) Personal Name(s) • Fogg, John Milton, 1898-1982 • Foster, H. Lincoln • Grant, Verne • Proctor, George R. • Wagner, Warren Herbert Subject(s) • Botany • Ferns • Horticulture • Phlox • Polemoniaceae - Page 7 - Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers 1907-1977 WHE Series I. Correspondence Collection Inventory Series I. Correspondence 1955-1975 0.25 Linear feet Arrangement Arranged alphabetically by correspondent name. Aiuto, Russell n.d. 1.0 Folder Barr, Claude A. 1963 1.0 Folder Blackmar, Bettina 1971 1.0 Folder Boydston, Kay and Walter 1975 1.0 Folder Dhillon, T.S. 1962 1.0 Folder Eakins, David A. 1969 1.0 Folder Earle, Elizabeth 1974 1.0 Folder Engleman, Jack 1970 1.0 Folder Epstein, Harold n.d. 1.0 Folder - Page 8 - Edgar Theodore Wherry Papers 1907-1977 WHE Series I. Correspondence Foster, H. Lincoln 1969-1970 1.0 Folder Gordon, Robert B. 1970 1.0 Folder Grant, Verne n.d. 1.0 Folder Herbarium of the University of Nevada 1955 1.0 Folder Holmgren,