Archives and Manuscript Collections
Personal Papers
EDWARD ANGUS BURT PAPERS (1895-1926)
1.5 linear feet (4 boxes)
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Edward
Angus Burt (1859-1939) was a mycologist and an authority on a family of
terrestrial fungi, the Thelephoraceae. He was born in Athens, Pennsylvania
and was educated at the State Normal School of Albany, New York, where
he taught natural history from 1880 to 1885. He obtained his M.A. (1894)
and Ph.D. (1895) at Harvard University studying under William G. Farlow
and Roland Thaxter. Dr. Burt was Professor of Natural History at Middlebury
College, Vermont from 1895 to 1913 whereupon he joined the Missouri Botanical
Garden as Mycologist and Librarian from 1913 to 1933. He held a concurrent
position as Professor of Botany at the Henry Shaw School of Botany at Washington
University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Dr. Burt's work focused on the systematic study of the Thelephoraceae,
a family of fungi whose fruiting bodies are often resupinate (flat on the
substrate). He published a series of articles on thelephore taxonomy in
the Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, later published as
The
Thelephoraceae of North America, I-XV (1914-1926). His research encompassed
systematic description of basidiomycetes such as Merulius and fungi
from Vermont, Siberia, and Java. Among his many publications he was author
of descriptive text for Icones Farlowianae (1929) by William G.
Farlow.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The Edward Angus Burt papers consist of correspondence, research papers,
manuscripts, and graphic material, including photographs and sketches.
They cover his career at Middlebury College, Vermont, and at the Missouri
Botanical Garden in St. Louis to 1926.
SERIES DESCRIPTONS
Series 1: Correspondence
Series 2: Research Papers
Series 3: Manuscripts and Typescripts
Series 4: Graphic Material
Series 1 Correspondence, 1926
One item
There is 1 file of correspondence pertaining to a paper Dr. Burt presented
in 1926 before the section on mycology at the International Congress of
Plant Sciences in Ithaca, New York. Correspondents include Liberty Hyde
Bailey, Benjamin M. Duggar, and H. M. Fitzpatrick.
Series 2 Research Papers, 1895-1907
0.3 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by subject.
There are 12 files consisting of species descriptions and dichotomous
keys to various fleshy fungi. Two files contain notes relating to basidiomycetes
identified by Charles Horton Peck and by George F. Atkinson, and one contains
notes on the Thelephoraceae described by Narcisse-Theophile Patouillard.
Series 3 Manuscripts and Typescripts, 1896-1926
1.0 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by author, then by title.
There are 34 files of manuscripts and typescripts. One contains a paper
by R. P. Burke on the agarics of Alabama, and the remaining were authored
by Dr. Burt. Most material consists of drafts of published articles on
the fleshy fungi, including descriptive work on the Phalloideae and Tremellaceae.
Dr. Burt's work on the Thelephoraceae was issued in 15 parts in the Annals
of the Missouri Botanical Garden from 1914 to 1926 and collected in
The
Thelephoraceae of North America, I-XV. There are typescripts of 9 of
the 15 parts of this series, viz. II, III, V, VI, VII, IX, X, XI, and XIII.
Series 4 Graphic Material, 1896-1924
0.3 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by subject.
There are 14 files of photographs and drawings, most of which are illustrations
of textual materials in Series 3: Manuscripts and Typescripts. Seven of
the files contain illustrations from the series The Thelephoraceae of
North America, I-XV as described above in Series 3.
Processed June 2000 by David Rose under a grant from the
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) PA-23141-98 and a grant from
the Harriet Ford Dickenson Foundation.
For more information and a complete description contact:
Susan Fraser, NYBG
Archivist
The LuEsther T. Mertz Library
The New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, NY 10458-5126
(718) 817-8879
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