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Theodore Payne collection
MS.7  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Biography/Administrative History
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Indexing Terms
  • Additional collection guides

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Theodore Payne collection
    Dates: 1909-2003
    Collection Number: MS.7
    Creator/Collector: Payne, Theodore, 1872-1963
    Extent: 1.0 linear foot (1 box)
    Repository: California Botanic Garden
    Claremont, California 91711
    Abstract: The collection contains Theodore Payne nursery catalogs; pricelists; plant and seed lists; articles and pamphlets authored by Payne for magazines and newsletters; and correspondence with Susanna Bixby Bryant and staff of California Botanic Garden.
    Language of Material: English

    Access

    The collection is open to research.

    Publication Rights

    The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator.

    Preferred Citation

    Theodore Payne collection. California Botanic Garden

    Acquisition Information

    The materials in the Theodore Payne collection were collected by the founder of California Botanic Garden Susanna Bixby Bryant, and former Executive Director, Dr. Philip A. Munz.

    Biography/Administrative History

    Born in 1872 in England, Theodore Payne was trained in the nursery and seed business at J. Cheal & Sons Company and gained familiarity with California native plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. In 1893, Payne immigrated to the United States and became the head gardener at the ranch of Madame Helena Modjeska in Santiago Canyon, Orange County, California. In 1896, Payne left the ranch and was employed as flower seedsman for the Germain Fruit and Seed Company in Los Angeles. Payne was responsible for Germain’s flower, tree, and palm seed department; his duties included preparing the annual catalog of seed offerings. In 1903, Payne purchased property at 440 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, and started his own nursery business with a special focus on California native plants and wildflowers, where he produced numerous plant and seed catalogs. Payne became concerned with the loss of native habitat due to housing developments and began to campaign to preserve California native plants. He developed a five acre native plant garden in Los Angeles, assisted Susanna Bixby Bryant with the creation of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (now California Botanic Garden) in Orange County, and was involved in the development of a native plant section of Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Payne died in Glendale, California in 1963.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The collection contains the nursery and seed catalogs, articles, and correspondence of nurseryman Theodore Payne with Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (California Botanic Garden) founder Susanna Bixby Bryant and Executive Director, Philip A. Munz. The materials cover his mid- to late career in California. Major topics include California botany, horticulture, seeds, native plant conservation, and wildflowers. The nursery catalogs in this collection span from 1909 to 1972. Also included are reprints of articles authored by Payne and published in Golden Gardens and other publications and assorted plant and price lists.

    Indexing Terms

    Native plant gardens
    Nursery growers
    Horticulture
    Sales catalogs
    Printed ephemera
    Correspondence

    Additional collection guides