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Grinnell (Fordyce Jr.) Papers
MS.202  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Scope and Contents
  • Preferred Citation
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Processing History
  • Biographical Note
  • Acquisition

  • Contributing Institution: Library and Archives at the Autry
    Title: Fordyce Grinnell, Jr. Papers
    Creator: Grinnell, Fordyce, Jr.
    Identifier/Call Number: MS.202
    Physical Description: 3 Linear Feet (7 boxes)
    Date (inclusive): 1872-1940
    Date (bulk): [bulk, 1872-1919]
    Abstract: Fordyce Grinnell, Jr. (1882-1943), was a noted lepidopterist in Southern California and founded the Lorquin Natural History Club (now the Lorquin Entomological Society) in June 1913. Grinnell was an assistant curator of entomology at the Southwest Museum from 1916-1917, and he obtained his BA from Stanford in 1918. This collection consists mostly of correspondence to and school papers by Fordyce Grinnell, Jr. from 1872-1919. A Lorquin Club membership directory from 1940 also appears in this collection. Family, general, and professional correspondence is included as well as nature study notebooks created by Grinnell's students at West Vernon School. This collection also includes papers from Grinnell's education, and personal papers, such as manuscripts written and collected by Grinnell, newspaper clippings, postcards, and ephemera.
    Language of Material: English .

    Scope and Contents

    This collection consists mostly of correspondence to and school papers by Fordyce Grinnell, Jr. from 1872-1919. A Lorquin Club membership directory from 1940 also appears in this collection. The correspondence in this collection includes family, general, and professional correspondence. It also includes thank-you letters written to Grinnell by students and teachers from schools where he lectured and correspondence regarding the Lorquin Natural History Club.
    Other materials in this collection include high school and university papers containing syllabi, exams, notes, and reports by Grinnell from his studies at Pasadena High School and at Stanford University. This collection also contains papers documenting Grinnell's role as a teacher, including nature study notebooks created by students at West Vernon School; manuscripts written and collected by Grinnell; newspaper clippings; postcards; and ephemera. Much of the collected manuscripts and clippings refer to Christianity or to entomology.

    Preferred Citation

    Fordyce Grinnell, Jr. Papers, 1872-1940, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.202; [folder number] [folder title][date].

    Conditions Governing Use

    Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives  and fill out the Researcher Application Form.

    Processing History

    Initial processing by Braun Library staff. Biographical note prepared by Eloise Nelson 2011 May 18. Processing and finding aid completed by Holly Rose Larson, NHPRC Processing Archivist, 2012 July 23, made possible through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions (NHPRC).

    Biographical Note

    Fordyce Grinnell, Jr., 1882-1943
    Grinnell was born 1882 June 17, in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, son of Dr. Fordyce Grinnell and Elizabeth Pratt Grinnell. His brother was Joseph Grinnell, an esteemed ornithologist who served as the first director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley, until his death in 1939.
    Fordyce's interest in entomology started at a young age and he began corresponding with another young entomologist, John Adams Comstock, Jr. when he was just 12 years old. Fordyce was a noted lepidopterist in Southern California, and he founded the Lorquin Natural History Club (now the Lorquin Entomological Society) in June 1913. Grinnell was an assistant curator of entomology at the Southwest Museum from 1916-1917, and he obtained his BA from Stanford in 1918.
    Following his graduation, he moved to Hawaii, where he taught until 1921. In 1922, he moved to the Philippines, and after a brief unsuccessful stint as a teacher, turned to collecting specimens full-time. He collected butterflies and beetles in the Philippines for the Bureau of Science in Manila and the Hill Museum in Surrey, England, until 1923, when he then traveled to Australia. He traveled extensively throughout Australia, continuing to collect specimens until 1930, when his widowed mother requested he return to the United States. He died in San Francisco, California on 1943 July 20.
    The Fordyce Grinnell insect collection was purchased by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County at the urging of John Comstock. At least part, and possibly all, of that specimen collection was transferred to the Riverside Municipal Museum in 1951.
    References: Comstock, John Adams. "Old Timers: [read by John A. Comstock at the Association Banquet, evening of June 19, 1965]." Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 14 (1975): 90-92.
    Bryant, James M. "The Collectors—A Cloud of Butterflies—A Kaleidoscope of Lepidopterists." Accessed 2011 April 13. http://www.xtimeline.com/timeline/The-Collectors---A-Cloud-of-Butterflies--a-Kaleidoscope-of-Lepidopterists.

    Acquisition

    Donation to the Braun Library some time before 1978.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Lepidopterists
    Clippings
    Correspondence
    Manuscripts
    Lepidopterology
    Stanford University
    Pasadena High School (Pasadena, Calif.)
    Ephemera
    Postcards
    Christianity
    Entomology
    Southwest Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.)
    Lorquin Entomological Society