Society of American Florists Records and Book Collection

The Records and Book Collection of the Society of American Florists, 1793-1993, consists of both organizational records and bound volumes. The Records of the Society of American Florists, 1894-1993, contain proceedings, minutes, correspondence, memos, publications, photographs and scrapbook material ranging from 1900 to 1988. The Book Collection of the Society of American Florists (SAF) consists of over 200 volumes, including monographs and bound serials ranging in publication from 1793 to 1990.

The Records of the SAF are arranged into nine different series, reflecting content and organizational structure. The original order of the materials has been retained wherever possible. Series I and Series II contain the minutes, correspondence and reports of the SAF and its committees from 1910 to 1984. Series III includes planning documents and meeting agendas for the mid-1980s. Series IV and Series V contain financial information from the 1980s and the charters and bylaws of the organization, while Series VI contains organization directories and the Who's Who in Floriculture membership list. Series VII and Series VIII focus largely on printed material from throughout the 20th century, including newsletters, newspapers, serials and programs. The final series, Series IX, contains ephemera, such as clippings, photographs and scrapbook material. Further description of the materials contained in each series may be found in the series descriptions.

A detailed listing of the Book Collection of the SAF may be found in the bibliography attached to this finding aid. This collection includes issues of the serials The American Florist, The Michigan Florist, and The Horticulturalist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste, as well as an incomplete set of the Dictionary of Gardening. Many of the volumes are inscribed with the names of previous owners, and/or are numbered as former volumes of the Gardeners' Club of Baltimore Library. The exact provenance of these volumes is unclear, but it is known that the Gardener's Club of Baltimore was incorporated in 1888, and does not appear to be in existence under that name today. In addition, many of the volumes in this collection were owned at one time by William Robertson Smith. He became a member of the SAF in 1886, and worked in the U.S. Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C., from 1853 until his death in 1912. He was the president of the SAF in 1893, and vice president in 1892. The SAF considers him the "father of their national charter' and an important figure in their history. Another large group of these volumes was owned at one time by Donald S. Grant, former head gardener to T. Harrison Garrett of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and a member of the SAF from 1886 until his death in 1888. Many of Grant's volumes are inscribed with "Botanic Gardens, Washington, D.C."

The Records and Book Collection of the SAF contains an incomplete run of the proceedings of the annual conventions of the Society from their first meeting in 1885 through to their 104th meeting in 1988. These proceedings may be found in several locations. The years 1885 through 1917, and 1921 through 1929 are bound volumes and are included in the Book Collection of the SAF. The proceedings for 1918 through 1920, and 1930 forward (incomplete) are included in the Records of the SAF.

The proceedings of the annual conventions begin in the Book Collection of the SAF, with the publication of Proceedings of the First Convention of the Society of American Florists: Held at Cincinnati, Ohio, August 12th, 13th, and 14th, 1885 (Proceedings). There are two runs of the early proceedings, one previously owned by Herman B. Dorner, former secretary of the SAF, and one with no inscription. The Dorner volumes begin with 1885 and run through 1911, including a duplicate copy of the 1910 proceedings bound separately. This run then continues with 1913 through 1916. The uninscribed run includes several duplicates of some years, but it is continuous from 1885 through 1917. The proceedings for the 1918 convention may be found in the Records of the SAF, Series VII, published in installments in the Journal of the Society of American Florists and Ornamental Horticulturalists (JSAF and OH). Proceedings for the 1918 convention begin in vol. 1, no. 1, and continue in four installments to vol. 1, no. 4. Due to the incomplete nature of this run of the JSAF and OH, the first installment of the proceedings for the 1919 convention are not present in this collection. The 1919 proceedings begin here with the second installment in the JSAF and OH, vol. 1, no. 8, and continue to vol. 1, no. 10. Proceedings for the 1920 convention were also published in the JSAF and OH in two installments, in vol. 2, no. 8 and 9, and are present in this collection in Series VII. The SAF discontinued publication of the JSAF and OH with vol. 2, no. 11 in December 1920; the next nine years of proceedings were published in independent volumes and are included in the SAF Book Collection under two different titles. The 1921 volume resumed the title Proceedings, but in 1922 and 1923 the title The S.A.F. and O.H. Annual was used. In 1924 the SAF reverted to the Proceedings title and continued to publish under that heading until 1929. The Book Collection of the SAF holds a complete run of these volumes from 1921 through 1929. After 1929, the SAF discontinued publication of its proceedings. The meeting records for 1930 through 1963 may be found in typescript form within Series I of the Records of the SAF. Their titles vary from year to year. In so far as possible, Series I folder titles reflect the actual titles of the materials.

While the proceedings of the SAF from 1885 through the 1930s included all of the business of the Society, later years saw an increase in additional board of director and committee meetings held outside the conventions. These records may be found in chronological order along with the proceedings in Series I of the Records of the SAF. In the 1960s, the SAF discontinued production of the proceedings of the annual conventions. The business of the SAF was conducted largely through separate committee meetings, and the minutes of those meetings are present in the Records of the SAF, Series II. There are records present in the collection pertaining to the planning and execution of annual conventions in the 1980s; these records may be found in Series III of the Records of the SAF. Additional information on the conventions of 1900 through 1913 may be found in the incomplete run of convention souvenir programs in Series VIII of the Records of the SAF.

In addition to the Proceedings, the SAF published a number of serials over the years. While the JSAF and OH was short lived, from 1919 through 1920, The American Florist saw greater longevity. The Book Collection of the SAF contains bound volumes of this serial from August 1886, vol. II through January 1902, vol. XVII, and August 1902, vol. XIX through January 1904, vol. XXI. From this date forward, only isolated copies of the serial are present in the Records of the SAF, Series VII. The collection run is missing vol. XVIII, February through July 1902. One segment of this serial run was previously owned by Charles P. Mueller of Wichita, Kansas, who became a lifetime member of the SAF in 1908. His segment is from vol. II through vol. XV, inclusive.

The SAF also published a number of newsletters. Incomplete runs of several of them can be found in the Records of the SAF, Series VII. One of those newsletters, the Dateline: Washington, D.C., was eventually combined with The American Florist to create the SAF newspaper The American Florist, Dateline Washington. Issues of this newspaper from 1975 through 1979 may be found in the Records of the SAF, Series VII. In the early 1980s, this newspaper reverted in title to The American Florist; one copy from this period is found in Series VII.

Series IX of the Records of the SAF contains clippings, photographs, three photograph albums, and a scrapbook. The loose clippings range from 1920 through 1976, and relate to industry items and SAF activities. There is also a 1985 clippings file, created by the SAF largely to track the public announcements of their activities. This series also contains loose photographs, including some head shots of board members, committee members, council members and staff. Most of the photographs are black and white, and span from 1898 to the late-1900s. The photograph albums and the scrapbook in this series include clippings, photographs, and notations from the beginnings of the SAF through the 1980s. The photograph albums appear to have been compiled by SAF staff in the mid- to late-1970s to document meetings, annual conventions, or other significant events. Proof sheets and negatives have been inserted into the albums. Additionally, some clippings and a 1987 Grow Show informational packet have been included with these albums. The scrapbook consists of clippings compiled by SAF member Karl P. Baum in December 1972. These clippings are related to members, meetings, and events from the beginning to the mid-20th century. These newspaper and other materials have been collected from several unidentified sources, and pasted onto course paper with captions or other notations. Each page is covered with 1970s style sheet protectors and held in a three-ring binder.