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Inventory of the Edward J. Wickson Papers
D-037  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content
  • Related collections
  • Indexing Terms
  • Access
  • Acquisition Information
  • Processing Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Publication Rights

  • Creator: Wickson, Edward J. (Edward James), 1848-1923
    Title: Edward J. Wickson Papers
    Date: 1874-1923
    Date (bulk): (1900-1920 bulk)
    Extent: 2 linear feet
    Abstract: The Edward J. Wickson Papers pertain to agriculture in California, which Wickson studied and taught during his 34 years as a professor and later Dean of the College of Agriculture at the University of California. The papers include many works by and about experimental horticulturalist Luther Burbank such as articles, correspondence, and duplicates of Burbank's scrapbooks.
    Physical location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
    Repository: University of California, Davis. General Library. Department of Special Collections.
    Davis, California 95616-5292
    Collection number: D-037
    Language of Material: Collection materials in English.

    Biography

    Born on August 3, 1848 in Rochester, New York, Edward James Wickson devoted much of his life to agricultural research. In 1872, he graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. Wickson was elected secretary of the New York Dairymen's Association in 1871. He organized the first dairy association in California in 1876. Wickson started at the University of California in 1879 as a lecturer in Practical Agriculture, was promoted to Assistant Professor of Agriculture in 1891, and in 1897 became a Professor of Agricultural Practice and Superintendent of Agricultural Extension courses. From 1906-1912, he served as the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. From 1905-1906 he reviewed nearly seventy sites on which to locate the University Farm.
    Wickson admired experimental horticulturalist Luther Burbank (1849-1926) and wrote about him in Luther Burbank; Man, Methods and Achievements, published in 1902. Wickson's other writings include The California Fruits and How to Grow Them (1889), The California Vegetables in Garden and Field (1898), and Rural California (1923). He began working with The Pacific Rural Press in 1875, was named a special contributor in 1894 and was the editor from 1899 until 1923. He died on July 16, 1923.
    Sources:
    Scheuring, Ann. Abundant Harvest: The History of the University of California, Davis. Davis: The Regents of the University of California, 2001.
    Stadtman, Verne A. The Centennial Record of the University of California. Berkeley: UC Printing Department, 1967.

    Scope and Content

    The Edward J. Wickson Papers spans the years of 1874-1923. The bulk of the material dates between 1900 and 1920. The majority of the documents in this collection are about Luther Burbank with some pertaining to the University of California, College of Agriculture. The papers are arranged into two series: 1. Material Related to Luther Burbank and 2. Material Related to Other Topics.
    The first series, Material Related to Luther Burbank, contains Wickson's Burbank-related correspondence, works by and about Burbank, and Burbank's Scrapbooks. There are seventy pieces of correspondence between Burbank and Wickson. Letters from publisher Oscar Binner include editing notes for a manuscript that Burbank and Wickson wrote together. The second series, Material Related to Other Topics, contains correspondence to and from Wickson and Wickson's writing and speeches, related to his own research and to the College of Agriculture.

    Arrangement of the Collection

    Arranged into two series: 1. Material Related to Luther Burbank and 2. Material Related to Other Topics.

    Related collections

    The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley holds 1.5 linear feet of Edward J. Wickson Papers.
    The Library of Congress holds the Luther Burbank Papers.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
    Wickson, Edward J. (Edward James), 1848-1923--Archives.
    Burbank, Luther, 1849-1926
    University of California (1868-1952). College of Agriculture
    Agriculture-California
    Horticulture--History

    Access

    Collection is open for research.

    Acquisition Information

    This collection was acquired by the library in 1972 with additional materials added in 2002.

    Processing Information

    Special Collections intern, Anne Rapaport, and Manuscript and Photograph Curator, Melissa Tyler, arranged this collection and created its finding aid. Collections Manager Sara Gunasekara encoded the online finding aid.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Edward J. Wickson Papers, D-037, Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis.

    Publication Rights

    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.