University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Papers from the University Studies series (The University of Nebraska) University Studies of the University of Nebraska 1984 Guide and Index to the Microfilm ditionE of the Charles E. Bessey Papers (1865-1915) Joseph G. Svoboda Patricia Churray Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/univstudiespapers Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Studies of the University of Nebraska at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Papers from the University Studies series (The University of Nebraska) by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. AIRCHIV£S lo..' V' ""I( "!T ft .... r. ", '-::- :'I l 1 .. I..... j~ "j _.' !. " II. "I II'. Joseph C. Svoboda and Patricia Churray, editors Guide and Index to the Microfilm Edition of the Charles E. Bessey Papers (1865-1915) new series no. 67 University of Nebraska Studies 1984 Charles E. Bessey 1845-191 5 The University of Nebraska The Board of Regents KERMIT R. HANSEN MARGARET ROBINSON chairman EDW ARD SCHWARTZKOPF NANCY HOCH vice chairman ROBERT R. KOEFOOT, M.D. ROBERT G. SIMMONS, JR. JAMES H. MOYLAN WILLIAM F. SWANSON JOHN W. PAYNE corporation secretary President RONALD W. ROSKENS Chancel/or, University of Nebraska-Lincoln MARTIN A. MASSENGALE Committee on Scholarly Publications J. MICHAEL DALY HENRY F. HOLTZCLAW, JR. DAVID H. GILBERT ex officio executive secretary DAVID M. NICHOLAS ex officio YEN-CHING PAO E. CHARLES HEALEY MICHAEL W. RILEY chairman ROBERT D. STOCK Joseph G. Svoboda and Patricia Churray, editors Guide and Index to the Microfilm Edition of the Charles E. Bessey Papers (1865-1915) university of nebraska studies: new series no. 67 published by the university at Lincoln: 1984 sponsored by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission This microfilm edition meets standards established by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, General Services Administration, and was produced with its financial support. Copyright 1984 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 84-51692 US ISSN 0077-6386 Manufactured in the United States of America Contents Introduction and Acknowledgments 7 Evaluation of the Bessey Papers 10 Results of Research from the Bessey Papers 12 Biographical Sketch of Charles E. Bessey 13 Editorial Comment 16 Roll Description 18 Index 22 INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The importance of Charles E. Bessey in the world of science was recognized by several researchers who have exten­ sively used his papers in the past. The evaluation of the Bessey papers by Professor Richard Overfield appearing else­ where in this Guide is indicative of this significance. The reason to publish the papers by microfilming was twofold. First, it was to prevent the original papers from further deterioration by frequent handling. Secondly, and perhaps even more importantly, copies of the microfilm edition are being made available to libraries of other institutions, thus enabling researchers easier access to the collection. Archi­ vists, special collections librarians and manuscript curators in many institutions gave their time to help us to collate as complete a set of Bessey papers for the microform edition as possible. We wish to thank in particular the following insti­ tutions for their cooperation and/or contributions: The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia; University of California-Berkeley, Jepson Herbarium; Cornell University Libraries, Archives; Farlow Reference Library & Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany, Harvard University; Gray Herbarium, Harvard University; Harvard University Library; Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Archives; Iowa State University Library, Ames; University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City; Library of Congress, Manuscript Division Michigan State University Archives, East Lansing; Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis; 8 The New York Botanical Garden, Library, Bronx; University of Rochester Library; Smithsonian Institution Archives; Stanford University Libraries, Archives; Washington State University Library, Pullman. All these institutions provided us with copies of Charles E. Bessey items found among their holdings. While some of these copies were included in extant Bessey letterpress books or among Bessey's carbons in our collection, most constituted a welcomed addition to the microfilm edition. We extend our thanks to the National Historical Publi­ cations and Records Commission, particularly. to George L. Vogt, the Commission's assistant director in charge of Publications Programs, who organized a very useful seminar in Washington, D.C., in August, 1980, for a group of editors microfilming projects. The editor of this project participated and pro­ fited in numerous ways from the program and the suggestions offered in the seminar's formal presentations and follow-up informal discussions. Patricia Churray who was hired to implement the project proved to be the embodiment of efficacy and zeal. Without her competent dedication the project could not be accomplished in time. She maintained correspondence and kept in touch by telephone with archivists and special collections librarians regarding additional Bessey materials. When the materials were obtained as copies, she provided them with appropriate identification targets, indexed and interfiled them. She kept the record of all expenditures and expedited the payment of all bills. She made a major reorganization of the Bessey Papers and completely revised the index to Bessey's corre­ spondence. This in itself was a major undertaking. When some documents in the letterpress books were barely legible and would be therefore practically illegible in the microfilm, she typed them, reconstructing imaginatively the faint script of the original. She designed the targets and prepared the materials for filming. She assisted in the supervision of the student help who did the bulk of filming and when she found time in her busy schedule she lent her hand in filming. Fin­ ally she checked the processed film for errors and legibility. Our thanks are also due to Jolaine Kaminski, assistant in the University Archives, who devoted much of her time in the continuing and often seemingly never ending process of the final revision of the index. She was able to continue with 9 the same efficiency and accuracy demonstrated by Patricia Churray who had to leave when money allotted for the project was exhausted. Dr. Gerald A. Rudolph, Dean of Libraries, reviewed the draft of the Guide and offered useful suggestions leading to its final version. Mr. Dean A. Waddel, Assistant Dean of Libraries, encouraged the editor in all phases of the project even though it was obvious that the time consumed by editor's participation in it far surpassed the allotted period of the grant proposal. Joseph G. Svoboda University of Nebraska-Lincoln Archivist EVALUATION OF THE BESSEY PAPERS Charles E. Bessey was one of the prominent leaders of American science during the late 19th-early 20th centuries. His career as a botanist, professor, and university adminis­ trator spanned forty-five of the most important years in the development of modern American science. Bessey was a prodi­ gious letter writer whose preserved correspondence is not only massive but informative and interesting. Aside from part of his early career in the 1870's, he kept copies of the letters he wrote and the originals of those received. The collection contains everything from letters to and from local farmers and nurserymen, to scientists throughout the country and abroad, to state and national politicians and government offic­ ials. Although most of the collection consists of correspond­ ence, there are lectures and reports covering many scientific, teaching, and administrative topics. The period and topics covered by the Bessey Papers are significant. Most of the important developments during the first fifty years of the land-grant college movement are treated in the Papers. These include such topics as: the debate over the nature of land-grant colleges, the relation­ ship of the colleges to agriculturalists and agricultural organizations, the beginning and development of agricultural experiment stations, the struggles to provide a scientific basis for agriculture and agricultural education, and the relationship between the new agricultural education and tradi­ tional university studies. The Papers contain much material on other aspects of education during this period. Bessey was interested not only in reforming university education but was also very active in reforms in secondary instruction and was involved nationally with the Committee of Ten. A second major area covered by the Papers is the "new botany" movement. This was an attempt to shift botany away from the traditional concentration on taxonomy toward evolu­ t'ion and physiology, from static to evolutionary classifica­ tion, from form to function. Bessey wrote a pioneer textbook for the "new botany" and was an active proponent of the move­ ment throughout his life. Thus there is much in the Papers of a technical nature on evolution, classification, ecology, pathology, and structural physiology. Closely tied to the "new botany" was a professionaliza­ tion movement by American botanists. Again