Harriet Barnes Pratt records
Scope and Contents
The Harriet Barnes Pratt records document the period from her election to the Board of Managers at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) in 1939 until her death in 1969. This collection does not contain personal or biographical information.
The bulk of the materials consists of correspondence related to Pratt's involvement in fundraising and planning activities at NYBG. Topics include the post-World War II rebuilding of the Garden, construction of the Charles B. Harding Laboratory building and the Harriet Barnes Pratt Library Wing, general Garden maintenance, the restoration of the Lorillard Snuff Mill, and the 1940 John Hopkins Press reprint of the Badianus Manuscript (Codex Barberini, Latin 241, Vatican Library).
This collection also includes subject files with information on Board of Managers meetings, committees on which Pratt served, financial records related to construction projects, and materials concerning the Snuff Mill restoration.
Dates
- 1934 - 1969
- Majority of material found within 1939 - 1969
Creator
- Pratt, Harriet Barnes, 1879-1969 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research with permission from Mertz Library staff.
Conditions Governing Use
Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be submitted in writing to the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden.
Biographical / Historical
Harriet Barnes Pratt (1879–1969), a horticulturist and philanthropist, was born on November 11, 1879, in Rockford, Illinois. She graduated from Smith College in 1900 and married Harold I. Pratt in 1901. Harold was the youngest son of Charles Pratt, the founder of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and one of the founders of the Standard Oil Company.
Her interest in the Garden dates back to 1915, when she first exhibited in a flower show at the Museum Building. She was elected to the Board of Managers in 1939 and served on the Women’s Advisory Council, the Corporation, the Executive Committee of the Board of Managers, and the City Relations committee of which she was Vice-Chairman and later Chairman.
From 1944-1950, Pratt served as Co-Chairman of the special committee that raised more than $2,000,000 for the post-war development of the Garden. In 1953, Pratt contributed to the fundraising efforts for the reconstruction of the Lorillard Snuff Mill, including remodeling the entire building into a restaurant and meeting center. She helped raise money to complete both the Laboratory Building (Harding Lab) in 1956 and the Harriet Barnes Pratt Library Wing in 1966. Her work was acknowledged twice by the Garden, becoming the first person to receive The New York Botanical Garden's Distinguished Service Award both in 1951 and 1964.
She died March 18, 1969 at the age of 89 at her apartment in New York City.
Extent
1.25 Linear Feet (3 document boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The collection is organized into two series:
- Series 1: Correspondence, 1934-1968
- Series 2: Subject Files, 1944-1969
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Harriet Barnes Pratt records were transferred to the New York Botanical Garden archives from the President’s Office in 1980.
Processing Information
Newspaper clippings were photocopied and discarded.
- Correspondence
- Fund raising -- New York (State) -- New York
- Lorillard Snuff Mill (New York, N.Y.)
- New York (N.Y.). Department of Parks and Recreation
- New York Botanical Garden
- New York Botanical Garden. Charles B. Harding Laboratory
- New York Botanical Garden. Library
- Women philanthropists
- World War, 1939-1945
Creator
- Pratt, Harriet Barnes, 1879-1969 (Person)
- Harding, Charles B. (Person)
- Montagne, Henry de la, 1888-1982 (Person)
- Moses, Robert, 1888-1981 (Person)
- Robbins, William Jacob, 1890-1978 (Person)
- Steere, William Campbell, 1907-1989 (Person)
- Title
- Harriet Barnes Pratt records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Serena D. Gomez in 1998 with further revisions by Nicole Font in 2024.
- Date
- November 2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Originally processed by Serena D. Gomez, Reference Librarian / Archivist in April 1998. Reprocessed by Nicole Font, Leon Levy Processing Archivist, in November 2024 with funding from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Foundation.
Repository Details
Part of the The Archives of the New York Botanical Garden Repository
New York Botanical Garden, Mertz Library
2900 Southern Boulevard
Bronx NY 10458 United States
ssinon@nybg.org