Skip to Main Content

Botany and Horticulture in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center

Archival and Manuscript Collections

Arthur L. Peck Papers, 1904-1957*
Arthur L. Peck is credited for introducing formal education in landscape architecture to the western United States. His collection includes essays pertaining to landscape gardening along Oregon highways, the role of trees in landscape design, and problems in rural and suburban landscaping. An early accession to this collection is comprised of 25 boxes of lantern slides of gardens and landscapes in Europe, primarily from just after World War II.

Albert D. Taylor Collection, 1907-1928*
The Albert D. Taylor Collection contains scrapbooks, landscape designs and surveys, photographs of scale models, and photographs and post cards documenting a trip to Europe taken during the summer of 1907.

Landscape Architecture Department Records, 1932-1982*
The Landscape Architecture Department Records document curriculum and instruction in landscape architecture at Oregon State University, department administration, extension activities, campus planning, and faculty research and publications. An academic program in landscape architecture was established at Oregon Agricultural College in 1911 and remained active until 1982.

Architecture and Landscape Architecture Department Photographs, 1910-1987*
The Architecture and Landscape Architecture Department Photographs contain landscaping scenes, maps of landscaping, group and individual portraits, and maps of tree districts in Corvallis. Also housed in the collection are images of trees around campus, the Agricultural Hall, the thirtieth anniversary of Architecture and Landscaping, and the dedication of the campus gates.

Facilities Services Records, 1888-2010*
The Facilities Services Records document the physical campus of Oregon State University in Corvallis as well as OSU facilities throughout the state of Oregon beginning with construction of the first building on the current campus in 1888.

Rare Books

A view of an estate garden from Parcs et Jardins des Environs de ParisThe Rare Book Collections include a minor subcollection specifically on botanical gardens and landscape architecture. Many of these are from the collections of landscape architecture and horticulture faculty Albert D. Taylor and Arthur S. Peck. These items range from the 17th to the 21st century, and include everything from early modern Italian gardens to modern Oregon gardens.

Keywords : garden* or landscape* and limit to Special Collections.

Particular early illustrated highlights includeLi Giardini Di Roma : Con Le Loro Piante, Alzate E Vedvte in Prospettiva, published in Rome with wonderful engravings in 1670; Versailles Illustrated; Or, Divers Views of the Several Parts of the Royal Palace of Versailles from 1726; as well as titles from early 18th and 19th century leaders in the field such as Uvedale Price, Humphrey Repton, J. C. Loudon, and A. J. Downing.

There are multiple titles on the development of greenhouses in the Victorian era; more reviews of French landscape design in the late 19th century; as well as early 20th century works on parks, rural, urban, and suburban beautification and highway development in the Northwest. 

Digital Collections

Oral Histories, Film, and Videos

MediaSpace results for landscape architecture; garden.
Including interviews with faculty and administrators, dedications of campus spaces, and public television on gardening topics.

Oregon Digital

Results (limited to OSU) for botanical gardens, landscape architecture.
Mentions from the Daily Barometer, the Oregon Stater, the General Catalog, and other campus publications, along with oral history transcripts and images from campus and beyond.

Scholars Archive

Results for botanical gardens, landscape architecture.
Theses, dissertations, publications, reports, and other products of the university, along with other selected digitized content from archival collections.