Leland Scott collection
Collection
0332-MDHC
The Leland Scott collection consists of nearly 500 images of the University of Maryland's Department of Horticulture, horticulture, and horticultural subjects, primarily relating to Maryland. The collection also includes a number of photographs which capture early history of the city of College Park. B.W. Anspon, an associate professor of floriculture and landscape gardening in the Department of Horticulture from 1913 to 1918, was the primary photographer. A smaller number of photographs are attributed to E. P. Walls, who was also a member of the faculty of the Horticulture Department.
Because they are fragile, use of glass plate negatives is restricted. Please contact the Archives and Manuscripts Department for more information.
Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.
8.50 Linear Feet
The images in the Leland E. Scott Collection date between 1885 and 1976, but the bulk were taken between 1900 and 1920. The images capture early history of the campus and the city of College Park as well as horticultural subjects in Maryland and elsewhere. Campus images of particular interest document early twentieth-century farming methods, the 1917 tennis team, tug-of-war contests over Paint Branch Creek, greenhouse facilities from the early 1900s, a cart with a team of oxen on unpaved Route 1 near the Rossborough Inn, cadets planting trees on Arbor Day, Farmers' Day celebrations, and baseball games. Sites depicted in the city of College Park include numerous private residences and the Calvert Road railroad crossing, which was formerly located on the site of the College Park Metro station. The images also include horticulture-related activities and plants on campus, such as narcissus blooms and honeysuckle bushes. These images are captured on glass plate negatives, paper prints, and film negatives. There are also a number of images drymounted on mat boards with detailed annotations.
In 1973, Leland E. Scott, professor emeritus of horticulture, rescued this collection of historic glass plate negatives and photographic prints from storage in the attic of Holzapfel Hall. Scott was born in Kentucky in 1906 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1927 from the University of Kentucky. He received a Master of Science in Horticulture in 1929 from Michigan State University. After ten years of teaching at Clemson State University, Scott came to the University of Maryland, where he completed his Ph.D. in Horticulture in 1943. During his time at the University of Maryland, Scott held various positions in the Department of Horticulture, including Assistant in Pomology for the Agricultural Experiment Station, Associate Professor of Pomology, and Professor of Horticultural Physiology, before his retirement in 1973.
In 1975, Scott published a comprehensive history of the Department of Horticulture, entitled Horticulture at the University of Maryland, 1856-1975. The Department of Horticulture was formally established in 1863 to provide classroom instruction, empirical fieldwork, and research opportunities in horticulture for students and faculty at the Maryland Agricultural College, as the University of Maryland was originally known, as well as to provide extension service for the residents of the state of Maryland.
Leland E. Scott died in Adelphi, Maryland, on June 8, 1997.
The images Scott rescued document activities of the University of Maryland's Department of Horticulture, horticulture, and horticultural subjects, primarily relating to Maryland. B.W. Anspon, an associate professor of floriculture and landscape gardening in the Department of Horticulture from 1913 to 1918, was the primary photographer. Anspon was also listed as a graduate student in the department in 1914-1915 and served as an instructor during this time. He taught landscape and ornamental horticulture classes at the college.
A smaller number of photographs are attributed to E. P. Walls, who was also a member of the faculty of the Horticulture Department. He was an Assistant in Agriculture from 1905 to 1906, an Assistant Professor of Botany, and Professor of Canning Crops from 1910 to 1952. Walls also served the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service as County Agent of Talbot County and Assistant Canning Specialist.
Organized as one series.
In 1973, Leland E. Scott, Professor Emeritus of Horticulture, saved this collection of historic glass plate negatives and photographic prints from destruction. Scott rehoused many of the prints and negatives in new envelopes and transcribed as well as added notes to the descriptive information. Scott subsequently contacted the University of Maryland, and the collection was transferred from storage in the attic of Holzapfel Hall to the Archives in 1994.
Scott's administrative correspondence and publications were separated and incorporated into the Records of the Department of Horticulture and the Faculty Reprint Collection. Other publications, such as newspaper articles, were separated and placed into University Publications, the Archives Vertical Files, and the Department of Entomology and Farmers' Institute control files. A complete list of separated material is available.
The collection has been rehoused based on format: the photographic prints and film negatives in Boxes 1 through 4; glass plate negatives in Boxes 5 and 6; and mat boards in Box 7. All the item descriptions were taken from the envelopes in which the prints or glass negatives were originally housed, except for a few loose prints. The information describing the loose prints was taken from captions on the prints themselves.
Each entry in Boxes 1 through 7 was assigned a number (#) for easier identification.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives