Max Clemens Richter Papers, 1887-1970

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Summary

Creators:
Richter, M. C. (Max Clemens), 1884-
Abstract:
Max Clemens Richter (1884-1973) was a commercial beekeeper, author of Honey Plants of California (1911), and owner of a book store, The Book Den. His Papers contain correspondence, photographs of various apiaries and apiculturalists, and scrapbooks relating to beekeeping, bee diseases, and queen bee breeders.
Extent:
1.2 linear feet
Language:
Collection materials in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Max Clemens Richter Papers, D-083, Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis.

Background

Scope and content:

The Max Clemens Richter Papers, which span the years 1887-1970, contain correspondence, photographs, and scrapbooks related to beekeeping, bee diseases, and queen bee breeders.

Letters in the correspondence series deal with Richter's commercial endeavors in beekeeping and bookselling, his writings for apicultural publications, and his affiliations with apicultural organizations. The third party subseries contains a group of letters which discuss buckeye poisoning of bees.

Photographs of apiaries in California and Chile as well as images of apiculturalists can be found in Series 4: Photographs.

Series 5 holds five scrapbooks dealing with bee diseases, honey statistics, and queen bees.

Arrangement of the Collection

The Papers are arranged into five series: 1. Correspondence, 2. Manuscripts, 3. Printed Material, 4. Photographs, and 5. Scrapbooks.

Biographical / historical:

Max Clemens Richter was born on March 11, 1884 in San Francisco, California to Clemens Maximilian Richter and Mary Barker Hobbs. He received a B.S. in 1910 from the University of California, Berkeley and in 1918 received an M.S. in Agriculture from the same institution. Richter was involved in commercial honey production from 1907-1927 and he established apiaries near El Monte, Chile and in the California counties of Sacramento, Stanislaus, and Monterey. He authored Honey Plants of California (1911).

In 1925, he married Marion Swayne of Oakland, California and they had one son, Richard. Richter also owned and operated The Book Den, a book store specializing in antiquarian and second hand books. From 1928-1932, The Book Den was located in Oakland. In 1933, he relocated the store to Santa Barbara and owned the business until his death on April 14, 1973.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Max Richter to Cornell University in 1963. Transferred from Cornell University to the University of California, Davis in 1967.
Physical location:
Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All 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 Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Max Clemens Richter Papers, D-083, Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library
100 NW Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292, US
Contact:
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
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