Edwards F. Ricketts Papers
Finding aid created by Monterey Public Library staff using RecordEXPRESS
Monterey Public Library
2023
625 Pacific Street
Monterey, California 93940
(831) 646-3741
https://monterey.org/library/services/research/history_room/index.php
Title: Edwards F. Ricketts Papers
Dates: 1897-1948
Collection Number: ARC 506
Creator/Collector:
Extent: 3 document cases; 1.2 linear ft.
Repository:
Monterey Public Library
Monterey, California 93940
Abstract: Collection consists of the records and correspondence of Edward F. Ricketts, marine biologist and proprietor of the Pacific
Biological Laboratories.
Language of Material: English
Access by appointment only; contact Local History Librarian or designated staff.
Reproduction by Local History Librarian or other designated staff; may be restricted due to condition of the materials.
[Identification of item]. Edwards F. Ricketts Papers. Collection Number: ARC 506. Monterey Public Library
Biography/Administrative History
Edward Flanders Robb Ricketts was born on May 14, 1897, in Chicago, Illinois. After service during World War I, he entered
the University of Chicago, where he was strongly influenced by ecologist Warder C. Allee. In 1923, Ricketts and family moved
to Pacific Grove, where he and Albert Galigher established Pacific Biological Laboratories. Ricketts also conducted research
on factors affecting ecological environments. In 1936, Ricketts moved into the laboratory at 800 Ocean Avenue, Monterey. In
1939, he and Jack Calvin produced Between Pacific Tides, a handbook of marine life along the north Pacific coastline. Ricketts
also worked on a series of philosophical essays, focusing on holism, transcendence, and non-teleological thinking. In 1939,
Ricketts and John Steinbeck planned an expedition to study the littoral of Baja, California, Mexico. In March 1940, they embarked
from Monterey. The expedition resulted in the publication of the Log from the Sea of Cortez.
Scope and Content of Collection
Series I consists of personal correspondence and papers, as well as materials pertaining to publication of Between Pacific
Tides and plans for the "Sea of Cortez" collecting expedition. Series II consists of catalogs, records and correspondence
pertaining to business meetings and specimen orders of the laboratory. Organized by series and arranged chronologically within
series.
Marine Biology
Frogs
Edward Flanders Ricketts
Jack Calvin
John Steinbeck
Ricketts
Pacific Biological Laboratories
Stanford University Press
Monterey, California
Notebooks
Correspondence
Minutes
Digital Images
Records