Francesco Franceschi Papers, 1904-1918

Summary

Creators:

Franceschi, Francesco, 1843-

Abstract:

Correspondence, manuscripts of his writings, and lists of plants relating to his work in acclimatizing plants in Santa Barbara, and in maintaining a nursery of exotic plants. Some later correspondence for the Montarioso Nursery, Aug. 1913-1918, included.

Extent:

Number of containers: 20 boxes Linear feet: 10

Language:

English

Background

Biographical / historical:

Born in Italy in 1843, Francesco Franceschi, a renowned botanist, obtained his doctorate from the University of Pisa in 1864. He began his work of plant acclimatization in Santa Barbara in 1893 when he established a nursery specializing in the growing and propagating of exotic plants. This work entailed a worldwide correspondence, an exchange of seeds and specimens, and a sharing of the results. At this time Dr. Franceschi compiled an inventory of foreign plants that had been introduced into the area, entitled Santa Barbara Exotic Flora. The nursery was beset by various difficulties. A fire in 1904 destroyed the propagating nursery and an unfortunate association with a landscape gardener, P. Riedel, led to a series of lawsuits, ending in dissolution of the partnership in 1909. Despite these setbacks, Dr. Franceschi managed to a large degree to popularize in California the cultivation of avocados, bamboo, figs, the large Japanese persimmons, palm trees, a ground cover named Lippia repens, some roses, cypress, asparagus and acacia.

Soon after the settlement of the Riedel affair, the doctor, with the aid of his children, established the Montarioso Nursery -his daughter in charge of the commercial side of the enterprise, while he continued his scientific work.

Dr. Franceschi left California in the summer of 1913 for a position in Tripoli offered by the Italian government, relating to plant cultivation and land development.

Physical location:

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Related resources

Other descriptive data:

The collection, transferred from the University of California Herbarium in July 1969, consists mainly of correspondence concerning the acquisition and exchange of plants and seeds and of reports on their growth in the Santa Barbara region. A group of letters from the Montarioso Nursery written after Franceschi's departure reveals that by 1916 the nursery had been largely abandoned in favor of landscape work, and they reflect the growth of the Montecito area. Also included are a few of Franceschi's writings (MS and printed), lists of plants introduced in the nursery, and plant and seed lists of the nursery.

Location of this collection:

UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US

Contact:

510-642-6481

bancref-library@berkeley.edu

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