Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Braunton, Ernest
- Abstract:
- This collection contains papers of horticulturist Ernest Braunton (1868-1945), an expert in the regional flora of Southern California and secretary of the Southern California Horticultural Society.
- Extent:
- 69 items in 1 box
- Language:
- The records are in English .
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains 69 items. There are three manuscripts, including an essay about horticulturist Theodore Payne and a poem read before the Illinois Association of Los Angeles, California. The 40 items in the correspondence section are arranged by author. Most of the correspondence is composed of replies to Ernest Braunton's inquiries regarding various horticultural statistics and facts. Other letters, including those from Walter Raymond, are in regard to the operation and dissolution of the Southern California Horticultural Society. The 26 items in the ephemera section are arranged alphabetically by type. The majority of the ephemera are records and documents of the Southern California Horticultural Society. There is also a pamphlet on Point Lomos, California. Subjects in the collection include: history of agriculture in California; horticulturalists of California; and history of horticulture in California.
Notable participants include: H. M. Butterfield, Newton Drury, Gustavus Eisen, Francesco Franceschi, Theodore Lukens, Woodbridge Metcalf, Walter Raymond, Forrest Shreve, H. A. Spoehr, J. Harrison Wright, California Dept. of Parks and Recreation, Carnegie Institution of Washington's Division of Plant Biology, Los Angeles Time, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, US Bureau of Plant Industry, US Forest Service, University of California's College of Agriculture and the University of Riverside's College of Natural and Agriculture Sciences.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Ernest Braunton (1868-1945), horticulturist and author of The Garden Beautiful in California, was born in London, England, in 1868. He immigrated with his parents to Iowa in 1872. He moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1887 and married Addie M. Kirkpatrick two years later. They had five children together.
Braunton's first agricultural project was Singleton Court, the home of mining millionaire John Singleton. The popularity of Singleton Court helped establish Braunton as a respected consultant of landscape design and horticulture. He planned the layout of the Bryant Botanical Gardens, designed the lily ponds for Henry Huntington and designed ornamental grounds for hundreds of homes in Southern California. Landscape design was just one of Braunton's interests. His knowledge of horticulture, especially the regional flora of Southern California, was extensive and based upon his own exploration of the area. At one point his collection of specimens numbered 1,281. He also had a hand in the development of the avocado industry in Southern California.
Positions held at various times include: Lecturer for the University of California Farmers' Institutes; Professor of Landscape Design, University of Southern California; Associate Editor of the California Cultivator 1901-32; Editor Garden Department, Los Angeles Times 1903-36; Garden Doctor, Los Angeles Times 1942-45; Southern California section in Bailey's Cyclopedia of Horticulture; Fellow, Royal Botanical Society of England; and Secretary, Southern California Horticultural Society. Braunton died in 1945.
- Acquisition information:
- In Library, 1981.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged by genre: Manuscripts, Correspondence, Ephemera.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191