Collection Guide
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Nursery and Seed Catalog Collection (International)
O-041
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Davis General Library, Dept. of Special Collections
Title: International Nursery and Seed Catalog Collection
creator:
University of
California, Davis. Library
Identifier/Call Number: O-041
Physical Description:
36.4 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1845-2013
Abstract: This collection consists of catalogs from nurseries and seed companies
outside the United States.
Physical Location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections,
as many are stored offsite.
The International Nursery and Seed Catalog Collection began when the library was established on the University Farm at
Davis in 1908. The catalogs originally served as a current reference resource and many were lost to heavy use. When the
Library and Administration building opened in 1940, the nursery catalogs were maintained in the library's reference
department as an in-house pamphlet collection.
Beginning in 1968, the nursery and seed catalogs were transferred to the Department of Special Collections where they
became a formal collection. The collection grew with the donation of other established collections. Harry Butterfield's
collection came in 1972 followed in 1973 by the Ferry-Morse Seed Company catalog collection. The collection continues to grow
through other donations from companies and individual collectors.
Catalogs of trees, fruits, vegetables, grains, flowers, and gardening equipment introduced to the public from 1845 to the
present, from Canada, England, Western Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and India. Many contain horticultural and
pomological illustrations chronicling the history of cultivated plants.
For the purposes of this collection, a nursery and/or seed catalog must have a listing of plants available for sale, a
price list, and the name and location of the vendor. It can be a single sheet, pamphlet or bound volume.
Collection is open for research.
[Identification of item], International Nursery and Seed Catalog Collection, O-041, Department of Special Collections,
University Library, University of California, Davis.
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is
not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Seeds -- Catalogs
Nurseries (Horticulture)
Seed industry and trade