Finding Aid for the George Alexander Kern Papers, 1925-1940

Processed by Anne Caiger; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
© 2003
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Finding Aid for the George Alexander Kern Papers, 1925-1940

Collection number: 1161

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division



Los Angeles, CA
Processed by:
Anne Caiger, August 1975
Encoded by:
Caroline Cubé
Online finding aid edited by:
Josh Fiala, October 2003
© 2003 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: George Alexander Kern Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1925-1940
Collection number: 1161
Creator: Kern, George Alexander, 1880?-1957
Extent: 3 boxes (1.5 linear ft.) 4 oversize boxes
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Dept. of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: George Alexander Kern (1880?-1957) was a Los Angeles based landscape architect and a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). The collection consists of notes, clippings, blueprints, photographs, drawings, and memorabilia relating to George Alexander Kern's career as a landscape designer.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Gift of Marjorie Dobbins Kern, bequest, 1975.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], George Alexander Kern Papers (Collection 1161). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 1972983 

Biography

Kern was born in Russia of Scottish parents, probably in the 1880s; served as a captain in the army during World War I and took on a diplomatic mission to England in 1917; moved to the U.S. in the 1920s; MA in landscape design, UC Berkeley, 1927; married Marjorie Dobbins of Pasadena; worked for well-known landscape architects; member, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA); he died in 1957.

Scope and Content

Collection consists of notes, clippings, blueprints, photographs, drawings, and memorabilia relating to George Alexander Kern's career as a landscape designer. Also contains materials about the Haskell residence in Montecito, California.

Organization and Arrangement

Arranged in the following series:
  1. Binders containing notes and clippings on types of gardening (Boxes 1-2).
  2. Photographs of projects, certificate of election to ASLA, and one letter (Box 3).
  3. Blueprints of projects, MA diploma, art class drawings, clippings and articles (Box 4).
  4. Album containing memoranda and photographs (Box 5).
  5. Photographs and drawings of gardens (Box 6).
  6. Haskell residence--Montecito, CA, 1935 (Box 7).

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Kern, George Alexander, 1880?-1957--Archives.
Landscape architects--California, Southern--Archives.
Gardens--California, Southern.


Note

George A. Kern was born in Russia of Scottish parents, probably in the 1880s. His earlier career before his move to the United States in the 1920s included service as a captain in the army during World War I, and on a diplomatic mission to England in 1917. In 1927, he obtained an M.A. degree in landscape design from the University of California, Berkeley, and about that time married Marjorie Dobbins of Pasadena. He worked for a number of well-known landscape architects in the course of his career in that profession. He died in 1957.
Boxes 1-2

5 binders containing notes and clippings, 1925 and n.d.

Boxes 1-2

"Evergreen shrubs."

Boxes 1-2

"Deciduous trees."

Boxes 1-2

[Bulbs].

Boxes 1-2

"Landscape gardening."

Boxes 1-2

"Rock gardens."

Box 3, Folder 1

Certificate of election of Kern to the American Landscape Architects, 1934.

Box 3, Folders 2-3

Photographic prints and negatives of building and landscaping projects, 1939 and (mostly) n.d.

Box 3, Folder 4

Letter, William Henry Harrison to Kern, June 8, 1940.

Oversize Box 4

Drawings for an art class, 1926.

Oversize Box 4

Blueprints and drawings for projects, 1928-1933.

Oversize Box 4

Clippings and periodical articles re gardens, architecture and landscaping, 1930s and n.d.

Oversize Box 5

Album containing memoranda and unmounted photographic prints and negatives re landscaping projects, 1930-1939.

Oversize Box 4

M.A. diploma, December 16, 1927.

Oversize Box 6

6 drawings of garden projects, 1930-1937.

Oversize Box 5

8 photographs of gardens, n.d. (1930s?).

Oversize Box 7

Haskell Residence, Montecito, California. 1935.

Physical Description: (1 item).