Where New Flowers are Bred

Object Details

sova.aag.bur_ref548
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6454930c1-99e8-4bad-8734-853d8165e311
Producer
National Garden Bureau
Collection Creator
W. Atlee Burpee Company
Burpee, W. Atlee (Washington Atlee), 1858-1915
Burpee, David, 1893-1980
James Vick's Sons (Rochester, N.Y.).
Wm. Henry Maule (Firm)
Producer
National Garden Bureau
See more items in
W. Atlee Burpee & Company records
W. Atlee Burpee & Company records / Series 5: Photographic and A/V Materials / 5.2: Films
Extent
2 Film reels (duplicate copies, color)
Date
circa 1947
Container
Box 293
Archival Repository
Archives of American Gardens
Type
Archival materials
Moving Images
Film reels
Collection Citation
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records.
Collection Rights
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Restrictions
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
AAG.BUR_ref548
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6454930c1-99e8-4bad-8734-853d8165e311
AAG.BUR
AAG
Record ID
ebl-1562707817734-1562707817920-5
1 result(s)
  • W. Atlee Burpee & Company records
    sova.aag.bur
    GUID
    https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb61614fe59-fe73-49f7-a297-a129d1ef0c0a
    Creator
    W. Atlee Burpee Company
    Burpee, W. Atlee (Washington Atlee), 1858-1915
    Burpee, David, 1893-1980
    James Vick's Sons (Rochester, N.Y.).
    Wm. Henry Maule (Firm)
    Topic
    Seed industry and trade
    Mail-order business
    Gardens -- United States
    Business
    Agriculture
    Horticulture
    Vegetables
    Flowers
    Trial gardens
    Victory gardens
    Contests
    Creator
    W. Atlee Burpee Company
    Burpee, W. Atlee (Washington Atlee), 1858-1915
    Burpee, David, 1893-1980
    James Vick's Sons (Rochester, N.Y.).
    Wm. Henry Maule (Firm)
    See more items in
    W. Atlee Burpee & Company records
    Summary
    The W. Atlee Burpee & Company records, dated circa 1873-1986, document the firm's business activities developing plant varieties and marketing and selling seeds. They include accounting records, seed trial records, seed contracts, sales records, inventories, office correspondence, seed catalogs, promotional and instructional materials, advertisements and advertising reports, contest letters, daybooks, photographs, reference materials, and other items relating to the company and some of its competitors.
    Biographical / Historical
    Washington Atlee Burpee (1858-1915) began a mail-order poultry and livestock business in 1876 in Philadelpia, which he soon expanded to include corn seed for chicken feed. In 1878, he founded W. Atlee Burpee & Co., the primary focus of which was to sell vegetable, fruit, and flower seeds through the mail. This company would go on to become one of the most notable seed distributors in the United States. By 1888, Burpee's family home, Fordhook Farms, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was established as an experimental farm to test and evaluate new varieties of vegetables and flowers, and to produce seeds. Burpee spent many summers traveling throughout the United States and Europe, visiting farms and searching for the best flowers and vegetables; certain plants he found were shipped to Fordhook Farms for testing. Plants that survived were bred with healthier specimens to produce heartier hybrids that were more resistant to disease. Other Burpee trial gardens were established in Lompoc, California and near Swedesboro, New Jersey. Burpee's son David took over the family business upon his father's death in 1915. At that time, the Burpee Company had 300 employees and was the largest mail order seed company in the world. It distributed over one million catalogs a year and received as many as 10,000 orders a day. In response to food shortages caused by World War I, the Burpee Company helped promote a "war gardens" campaign that evolved into a "victory gardens" campaign during World War II. Both were aimed at city dwellers and instructed them on how to grow vegetables for their own consumption to aid in the war effort. Sometime in the 1930s, the Burpee Company entered into a business relationship with the James Vick's Company of Rochester, New York. In 1947, Burpee purchased the assets of and rights to the use of the name of the Wm. Henry Maule Co. In 1970, Burpee was sold to General Foods; the corporate headquarters moved from Philadelphia to Warminster, Pennsylvania in 1974. David Burpee remained a consultant for the company until his death in 1981. In 1991, the Burpee Company was acquired by George J. Ball, Inc.
    Extent
    201 Cubic feet
    Date
    circa 1873-1986
    bulk 1890-1930
    Archival Repository
    Archives of American Gardens
    Identifier
    AAG.BUR
    Type
    Collection descriptions
    Archival materials
    Advertising
    Business records
    Correspondence
    Account books
    Pamphlets
    Trade catalogs
    Citation
    Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records.
    Arrangement
    Collection is arranged into six series: Series 1: Plant/Farm Related Material Series 2: Business Records Series 3: Material Published About the Burpee Company Series 4: Awards and Certificates Series 5: Photographic and A/V Materials Series 6: Burpee Family Papers
    Processing Information
    The collection was originally processed by Marca Woodhams of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries' Horticulture Branch; she generated a box list at that time. Archives of American Gardens' intern Candace Graham developed a finding aid for the collection in 2002. The finding aid was revised by AAG museum specialist Joyce Connolly in 2019 after the collection was re-inventoried.
    Rights
    Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
    Existence and Location of Copies
    Copies of numerous Burpee publications including seed catalogs and trade literature are found in other public repositories and special collections. Many of these publications have been digitized and are available online through the Biodiversity Heritage Library at www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ .
    Genre/Form
    Advertising
    Business records
    Correspondence
    Account books -- 19th century
    Account books -- 20th century
    Pamphlets
    Trade catalogs
    Scope and Contents
    This collection documents W. Atlee Burpee & Co., a mail-order seed company based in Philadelphia, from its early beginnings in 1876 when its founder, W. Atlee Burpee, started in the agricultural business, to the 1970s when his son, David Burpee, sold the family's then-global company. The collection also includes personal papers of the Burpee family dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. Business-related content in the collection consists of crop propagation and management records; company correspondence; administrative and personnel records; advertising files; legal papers; property records and plans; reports, studies, and technical data; notes and drafts; files on professional outreach activities and events; trade literature (published by both the Burpee company and a number of its competitors); and awards and certificates received by the company. Significant topics documented in these files include the development of notable flower and vegetable novelties introduced by the company; the impact of World Wars I and II on gardening and the global seed trade; advertising strategies, technology, and innovation; and David Burpee's involvement in the national floral emblem congressional debate. The Burpee family papers consist of personal files unrelated to the company's business operations. This includes records generated by W. Atlee's father (David Burpee, 1827-1882) and grandfather (Washington L. Atlee, 1808-1878), as well as W. Atlee's wife, Blanche (1863-1948); David Burpee (1893-1980) and his wife, Lois (1912-1984); and W. Atlee Burpee II (1894-1966). There are genealogical surveys conducted on both the Atlee and Burpee families as well as clippings about family members. W. Atlee and David Burpee's series are the most extensive and cover their involvement with numerous clubs and societies such as the Canadian Society of Philadelphia, the Union League of Philadelphia, and, for David Burpee, his involvement with Pearl S. Buck's Welcome House charity. The series include personal correspondence; financial, accounting, and tax records; files generated during vacations; reference material; and will and estate papers. The Burpee collection also has a large number of images related to the Burpee business and family in a variety of formats including photographs, film and glass plate negatives, and advertisement mock-ups. Other formats include architectural and site plans, original artwork for advertisements, films, cassettes, audio tapes, and ephemera.
    Restrictions
    Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
    Related Materials
    Burpee seed catalogs donated to the Smithsonian in 1982 by the W. Atlee Burpee Co. can be found in the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives' Trade Literature Collection at the National Museum of American History. The Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division includes a series of images of Burpee company operations taken in 1943. The Black Gold Cooperative Library System's Asian/Pacific - Americans on the Central Coast Collection includes images dated 1933-1939 of Japanese employees of the Burpee Co. working at Floradale Farms in Lompoc, California.
    AAG.BUR
    Large EAD
    https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb61614fe59-fe73-49f7-a297-a129d1ef0c0a
    AAG.BUR
    AAG
    Record ID
    ebl-1562707817734-1562707817755-0
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