Rost, Ernest Christian, 1867-1940

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Ernest Christian Rost, an artist, pioneer photographer, adventurer, and botanist. He was born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., son of German parents, Christian Wilhelm, an engraver of renown, and Minna Rost, an embroiderer of military insignia. Rost studied at the National Academy of Design and continued his artistic education Europe. In the late 1890's, he turned to photography, working in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and Panama. In 1907, he married Etta N. Newbury. By 1918, he settled in California. Having failed at growing grapes in San Joaquin Valley, he moved to Alhambra and devoted his life to studies of cacti. Rost traveled widely throughout the Mojave Desert, Nevada, Mexico, and Arizona, collecting and classifying desert plants. In 1929, he became an editor of Desert, the official publication of the American Succulent Societies. In 1931, he was elected to the German Horticultural Society. In 1933, Rost sought to publish a book Something about cacti, but the project was never realized.

From the description of Papers of Ernest Christian Rost, 1918-1937. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 228732723

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Mildred Kenney Rost papers, 1913-1988 Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
referencedIn William de Costa papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Rost, Ernest Christian, 1867-1940. Papers of Ernest Christian Rost, 1918-1937. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
referencedIn Rost, Mildred Kenney. Mildred Kenney Rost papers, 1913-1988. Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
referencedIn Frederick Albert Cook Papers, 1881-1977, (bulk 1891-1940) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Britton, Nathaniel Lord, 1859-1934. person
correspondedWith Cook, Frederick Albert, 1865-1940. person
associatedWith DeCosta, William. person
associatedWith Rose, J. N. (Joseph Nelson), 1862-1928. person
associatedWith Rost, Mildred Kenney. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
United States
California
Subject
Botanists
Botanists
Botanizers
Cactus
Cactus
German Americans
Horticulturists
Photographers
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1867

Death 1940

Information

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SNAC ID: 53530992