American Museum of Natural History, 1900 - 1926

The Britton, Merrill, and Howe Records document the NYBG administrative careers of Britton, Merrill, and Howe as well as the history of the institution during their directorships (1880-1936). These records also overlap with the early years of William J. Robbins’ NYBG administrative career (1937-1958). The Britton, Merrill, and Howe Records are arranged in the following four series:

Series 1: Administrative Correspondence--General, documents the founding years and the early development of NYBG. The bulk of the records are Nathaniel Lord Britton’s administrative and subject correspondence (1889-1929). It also includes correspondence Britton carried out after his retirement that was relevant to the garden. This series overlaps with records found in Series 3: Administrative Correspondence--Subject.

Series 2: Administrative Correspondence--City of New York includes correspondence specifically between NYBG and the City of New York. This series includes correspondence with a number of city leaders and institutions. This series also includes documentation of NYBG’s original land appropriation. Additional records dealing with the City of New York and NYBG can be found in Series 3: Subject Files--Sub-Series 2: Two Decades of Transition.

Series 3: Subject Files includes subject files from NYBG’s “founding years” and “transition period.” While the first two series consist almost entirely of Britton’s correspondence, this series focuses on the documents of Howe, Merrill, and Gleason. This series is divided into two sub-series: Founding Years, 1889-1933, and Two Decades of Transition, 1924-1946. There is an overlap of approximately 13 years between these two sub-series. The overlap is due to the fact that sub-series was processed at an earlier date. Sub-series 2 also includes early administrative records of NYBG Director William J. Robbins. Duplicates of many of these records are found in the William J. Robbins Records, 1937-1958. The records in this series overlap with the records in Series 1: Administrative Correspondence--General, and series 2: Administrative Correspondence--City of New York.

Series 4: Maps, Plans, and Blueprints includes maps, plans, and architectural drawings that visually document the original ideas and plans of NYGB.

Overall, the Britton, Merrill, and Howe Records illustrate the variety of activities in which NYBG was involved from its founding date (1891). Folder level control of the collection has been achieved, and it is strongly recommended that any user of these records begin their research by first reading the series descriptions and then scanning the container listings.