Finding aid to the Charles Russell Orcutt Papers LA.1994.0415

Finding aid prepared by Marie Myers
San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library
2018-05-30
1788 El Prado, Balboa Park
San Diego, CA 92101
library@sdnhm.org


Language of Material: English
Contributing Institution: San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library
Title: Charles Russell Orcutt Papers
creator: Orcutt, Charles Russell, 1864-1929
Identifier/Call Number: LA.1994.0415
Physical Description: 3.75 Linear Feet
Date (bulk): 1877-1929
Abstract: The papers consist of correspondence, field notes, and publications of the botanist Charles Russell Orcutt. It also includes biographical material and lists related to Orcutt's natural history collections, library, research, and travels.
Language of Material: English

Scope and Contents

The papers consist of eight boxes of material related to Orcutt's life, collecting trips, and publications. The collection also contains correspondence, field notes, and collecting lists. Material in four series, as follows. I. Biographical material and field notes, 1878-1929; II. Research; III. Orcutt Library, 1918-1939; IV. Publications.

Biographical / Historical

Charles Russell Orcutt was a naturalist who specialized in botany and malacology. Born on April 27, 1864 in Hartland, Vermont, he moved with his family to San Diego in 1879, where his father established a small horticultural nursery near the ruins of the Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Orcutt married Olive E. Eddy in 1892; her medical practice provided financial support for the family while Orcutt traveled extensively on collecting trips in both southern California and Baja California. He was a prolific writer and editor, publishing multiple journals and magazines including West American Scientist (1884-1919). An early member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego Society of Natural History (the parent organization of the San Diego Natural History Museum), he collected many specimens now currently held in the botany, paleontology, and marine invertebrate departments of that museum. Orcutt collected at least 45 new taxa, including 15 plant species and even one genus that were named in his honor. Many plant names exist today with the specific epithet of orcuttii as testament to his collecting skills. His botanical specimens are found in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Natural History Museum, in addition to the San Diego Natural History Museum. He died on August 25, 1929 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to researchers by appointment. Contact the Research Library Director, San Diego Natural History Museum.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright may be reserved. Consult the San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library Director for more information.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Charles Russell Orcutt Papers. Research Library, San Diego Natural History Museum.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Botanists -- California -- Correspondence
Botany -- California
Botany -- Mexico -- Baja California (Peninsula)
Cactus
Malacology
Mollusks
Plants -- California

 

Series I - Biographical material and field notes 1878-1929

Box 304

Field Notes Journal 1879-1897

Orcutt Field Notes 1879-1897: 1879-1897

Scope and Contents

Journal and list of plants, shells and other natural history material collected by Orcutt; items numbered consecutively from 1 to 2893, some with location and date. Includes autobiographical sketch, Orcutt family genealogies, and collecting notes. Localities include San Diego and Imperial counties, Baja California, Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Mexico City, and Guadalajara. Includes notes re Asa Gray and C. C. Parry, some drawings.
Box 304, Folder 1

Biographical data and notes 1886-1929

Scope and Contents

Articles, news clippings, and correspondence regarding Orcutt. Includes San Diego Union obituary published 29 Aug 1929 and Eugene Coan, "Charles Russell Orcutt, Pioneer Californian Malacologist and the West American Scientist," Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History, vol. 14, no. 8 (1966); typescript of Orcutt essay "In Baja California" re 1886 trip; typescript "Grasses Collected in Baja California" by C. R. Orcutt. Correspondence re Orcutt includes timeline of Orcutt collecting trips 1882-1919, prepared by Reid Moran.
Box 304, Folder 2

Collections in Texas 1913, 1926

Scope and Contents

Plant lists for localities in Texas, including Laredo (Mar-Apr 1913) and Corpus Christi (1913). Also includes list of specimens collected by Orcutt at Cloudcroft, New Mexico, 23-26 Jul 1926.
Box 304, Folder 3

Field notes 1884

Scope and Contents

One handwritten half-page size list, with 4 typescript copies; published list of Gastropoda.
Box 304, Folder 4

List of donated books n.d.

Scope and Contents

Memoranda pad with list of journal titles donated to the "Scientific Library" of the San Diego Society of Natural History.
Box 304, Folder 5

Orcutt essay "By Wagon to Baja" 1886

Scope and Contents

"By Wagon to Baja" Orcutt essay of 1886 trip, prepared as article for Environment Southwest. Typescript, 5 pp. Includes brief (1 p.) biography of Orcutt by Reid Moran.
Box 304, Folder 6

Letters 1878-1924

Scope and Contents

Letters from Orcutt to his parents, 1900-1903. Also includes one letter to his cousin, Lydia Gray, 1878, and five letters to his son Heman, 1922-1924.
Box 304, Folder 7

Letters 1882-1883; 1910

Scope and Contents

Photocopies of letters to George Engelmann (1882-1883) and J. M. Greenman (1910) of Missouri Botanical Garden regarding cacti.
Box 304, Folder 8

Letters 1883-1894

Scope and Contents

Letters from Orcutt to his parents, 1883-1894.
Box 304, Folder 9

Letters 1890-1894

Scope and Contents

Letters from Orcutt to his parents. Includes one letter from San Diego Natural History Museum director Clinton G. Abbott to Orcutt regarding donation.
Box 304, Folder 10

Letters 1927-1929

Scope and Contents

Two letters. Letter dated 1927 from Laurence M. Klauber regarding Orcutt donation to the San Diego Society of Natural History. Letter dated June 1929 from Orcutt to his daughter Eunice.
Box 304, folder 11

Biographical notes

Scope and Contents

Biographical notes prepared by museum staff; includes Orcutt's U.S, passport, issued 1919.
Box 304, Folder 12

Family reminiscences and other biographical material

Scope and Contents

Reminiscences of Orcutt's daughter Mary Orcutt Bisbee; note to Orcutt granddaughter Barbara Bisbee with news clipping re Grantville and Orcutt post office. Also includes obituary of Maryette Foster Eddy (Orcutt's mother-in-law), d. 1903.
Box 304, Folder 13

Photos

Scope and Contents

5 b/w photographs. (1) Flower of Pachycereus Orcuttii, taken 10 Jun 1905 (copy of San Diego Natural History Society's type photograph); 4 x 5 in. (2) Orcutt portrait; 8 x 10 in. (3) Orcutt with cactus; 5 x 7 in. (4 and 5) Museum staff inspecting Orcutt Library at Old Town, August 1927; 4 x 5 in.
Box 304, Folder 14

Clippings 1867

Box 304, Folder 15

Shell lists

Scope and Contents

Handwritten lists of shells for sale and exchange. Includes some names of collectors to whom Orcutt sent shells.
Box 304, Item 1

Orcutt essay "A Lost Mine" 1879

Scope and Contents

Handwritten letter from Orcutt, published in the San Diego Daily Union, 21 Dec 1879 as "A Lost Mine." Includes transcription.
Box 305

Series II - Research Material

Scope and Contents

Series consists of four notebooks, two envelopes, and seven folders of research material about Orcutt and his collecting activities, including Ethel Bailey Higgins notes about Orcutt. Includes three folders of Orcutt's own handwritten technical notes on cacti. Includes handwritten Orcutt manuscript (circa. 1919) entitled "Historical Review of Scientific Activity in San Diego." Includes envelope of information collected by Orcutt (circa 1919) on the early history of the San Diego Natural History Museum. This envelope includes biographical notes by Orcutt of Fred Baker and W. C. Crandall. Also includes archival photocopies of Review of the Cactaceae.
 

Series III - Orcutt Library 1918-1939

Box 79, Item Envelope

Orcutt Papers 1918-1921

Scope and Contents

Papers relating to the formation of the San Diego Scientific Library.
Box 197

Orcutt Library - Museum Administration documents 1918-1929

Scope and Contents

Approximately one inch of documents, bulk originals of material included in Box 79. Includes correspondence and legal documents regarding donation of Orcutt's Library to the San Diego Society of Natural History. Correspondents include Clinton G. Abbott, Fred Baker, Howard H. Cleaves, J. C. Harper, Laurence M. Klauber, Charles Russell Orcutt, Olive L. Eddy Orcutt, Joseph W. Sefton, Jr.
Box 79, Folder 1

Deed of Trust Correspondence 1920-1923

Scope and Contents

Photocopies of correspondence. Correspondents include Clinton G. Abbott, Fred Baker, Howard H. Cleaves, J. C. Harper, Charles Russell Orcutt, Joseph W. Sefton, Jr. Bulk of material copies of material in Museum Administration Box 197.
Box 79, Folder 2

Letters - Orcutt Library 1927-1933

Scope and Contents

Letters relating to Orcutt's Library. Correspondents include Clinton G. Abbott, Laurence M. Klauber, Frank Stephens, U. S. Grant, IV, Ralph E. Jenney.
Box 79, Folder 3

Natural History Museum early holdings 1938

Scope and Contents

List of books donated by Orcutt to the San Diego Society of Natural History; 1 bound volume (6 x 8").
Box 79, Item Bundle

Orcutt Library inventory 1939

Scope and Contents

Handwritten inventory of Orcutt library, prepared as part of WPA project. Includes Manuscript Depository Form of Works Project Administration, Division of Women's and Professional Projects Historical Records Survey, 1937.
 

Series IV - Publications

 

Various publications, A-M

Physical Description: 0.5 Linear Feet

Scope and Contents

Twelve folders; bulk consists of of published material. Includes issues of Orcutt publications The Semi-Tropical Planter, San Diego Magazine, Golden Hints for California, and For San Diego.
Box 306, Folder 1

Letter 1886

Scope and Contents

Handwritten letter from Orcutt to Robert Manning regarding publishing schedule and issue numbers for the West American Scientist.
Box 306, Folder 2

Publication lists

Scope and Contents

Various lists of Orcutt publications, prepared by museum staff. Includes correspondence regarding issue duplicates for sale and exchange.
Box 306, Folder 3

Alegria 1905

Scope and Contents

One issue: Vol. 1, no. 1 (May 1905); advertising pages only.
Box 306, Folder 4

The American Botanist 1898-1900

Scope and Contents

Two issues: Vol. 1, no. 1 (15 Sep 1898) and Vol. 1, no. 2 (Jan 1900).
Box 306, Folder 5

American Plants (vol. 1) 1907-1908

Box 306, Folder 6

Botany of San Diego 1900

Box 306, Folder 7

Botany of Southern California 1901-1903

Box 306, Folder 8

California Art and Nature 1901

Box 306, Folder 9

California Botanical Garden 1903

Scope and Contents

Bulletin 1, July 1903. No page numbers (16 pages).
Box 306, Folder 10

California Garden 1906

Box 306, Folder 11

California Trees and Flowers 1891-1892

Box 306, Folder 12

For San Diego 1907

Box 306, Folder 13

Fruits All the Year Round 1892

Box 306, Folder 14

Golden Hints 1900-1920

Box 306, Folder 15

Golden Hints for California 1891

Box 306, Folder 16

The Horticulturist 1889

Scope and Contents

"Christmas Number." No. 1, Dec 1889. Contents and advertisements identical to Manzanita, no. 1.
Box 306, Folder 17

International Seedsman and Plantsman 1895

Box 306, Folder 18

Jamaica Naturalist 1927

Box 306, Folder 19

Magazine San Diego 1914-1915

Scope and Contents

Vol. 1, no. 1 (May 1914), pp. 1-16. No. 1 (Jan 1915), pp. 1-4; price list of cactus only.
Box 306, Folder 20

Manzanita 1889-1890

Scope and Contents

Subtitle: "The Lower California Magazine." Includes No. 1 (Dec 1889) and No. 2 (Jan 1890). Contents and advertisements identical to Horticulturist, no. 1 (Dec 1889).
Box 306, Folder 21

Mexican Magazine 1910

Box 306, Folder 22

Mineral Kingdom 1899

Box 306, Folder 23

Miscellaneous publications 1885-1909

Scope and Contents

Orcutt publications including checklists, price lists, and issues of magazines. Includes Cacti Illustrated (1892), Flora of South and Lower California (1885), Southern and Lower California Flora (188?), Southwest News (1892), and The Texas Garden (1909).
 

Various publications N-S 1867-1927

Physical Description: 1 Linear Feet
Box 307, Folder 1

The National 1903

Box 307, Folder 2

Orange Blossom 1891

Box 307, Folder 3

Orcutt's Mexico 1913

Box 307, Folder 4

Out of Doors for Women 1893

Box 307, Folder 5

Price list, California flowers 1907

Scope and Contents

Orcutt Seed and Plant Company. Includes advertisements.
Box 307, Folder 6

Riverside Orange 1891

Box 307, Folder 7

San Diego Magazine 1888

Box 307, Folder 8

San Diego Natural History Series 1891

Box 307, Folder 9

Science and Horticulture 1891

Box 307, Folder 10

The Semi-Tropical Planter 1887-1888

Box 307, Folder 11

The Semi-Tropical Planter 1889

Box 307, Folder 12

The Semi-Tropical Planter 1890-1891

Scope and Contents

Nine issues. September 1891 issue (Vol. VII, no. 37) includes "Women in Science" essay by Rosa Smith Eigenmann, "read before the Pacific Coast Women's Press Association."
 

Various publications W-Y

Box 308, Folder 1

The West American 1906 (?)

Box 308, Folder 2

West American Mollusca 1900

Scope and Contents

Includes Mollusca no. 2 (Jan 1900).
Box 308, Folder 3

West American Scientist 1886-1913

Scope and Contents

Various issues. Include 1913 material not issued. Also includes subscriptions receipt book and correspondence of Clinton G. Abbott with institutional libraries regarding issues for exchange.
Box 308, Folder 4

The Young Men's Journal 1887

Box 308, Folder 5

The Young Men's Journal 1888

Box 308, Folder 6

The Young Men's Journal 1889

Box 308, Folder 7

The Young Men's Journal 1890

Box 308, Folder 8

The Young Men's Journal 1892

 

Various publications 1884-1915

Scope and Contents

Box contains issues of six publications, all approximately 6 x 9 inches; some loose leaves, some bound as pamphlets.
Box 309, folder 1

Botanical Study of Mexico ca. 1913

Box 309, Folder 2

Cactography 1906

Box 309, Folder 3

Molluscan World 1915

Box 309, Folder 4

Orcutt 1898

Box 309, Folder 5

Review of the Cactaceae

Box 309, Folder 6

West American Scientist 1884-1893

Box 320

The Great Southwest (magazine) 1889-1894

Scope and Contents

Issues of The Great Southwest, beginning with Vol. 2, no. 1 (Jan 1889); through Vol. VI, whole no. 55 (Oct 1894).