University of California, Davis. Library

Mostly 19th and early 20th century programs, including a large group of souvenir programs.

Material was collected by the Department of Special Collections as part of the African American History Collection.

William Grant Still (May 11, 1895-December 3, 1978) was a ground-breaking African-American classical composer. He was the first African-American to conduct a major American orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, 1936) and the first to have one of his symphonies performed by a major American orchestra (the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, 1931).

Mostly 19th and early 20th century British programs, including a sizable group from Dublin's Abbey Theatre.

History

The Nursery and Seed Catalog Collection began when the library was established on the University Farm at Davis in 1908. The catalogs originally served as a current reference resource and many were lost to heavy use. When the Library and Administration building opened in 1940, the nursery catalogs were maintained in the library’s reference department as an in-house pamphlet collection.

Beginning in 1968, the nursery and seed catalogs were transferred to the Department of Special Collections where they became a formal collection. The collection grew with the donation of other established collections. Harry Butterfield’s collection came in 1972 followed in 1973 by the Ferry-Morse Seed Company catalog collection. Other donations, from companies and individual collectors, and purchases continue.

History

The Agricultural Technology Manuals Collection began as a series in the F. Hal Higgins Collection. In 1927 F. Hal Higgins began collecting materials relating to the history of combines and tractors. Over time the collection expanded to include materials describing farm implements, farm commodities, and equipment for logging, earthmoving and construction.

The Library, University of California, Davis acquired Higgins’ collection in 1959. Regular patron use of the collection indicated a strong interest in the manuals for tractors and other farm machinery. In order to better serve patrons, Library staff shelved the manuals together as they were found in the collection. This arrangement also made it easier to acquire new titles. In 1983, the manuals that had been accumulated in the F. Hal Higgins collection were removed from the collection and organized as the Agricultural Technology Manuals Collection.