Palemon Howard Dorsett Collection on Persimmons

Collection

Identifier: MS0371

Staff Only

Content Description

The Palemon Howard Dorsett Collection on Persimmons contains 200 photographs of persimmon fruits, trees, orchard workers, and related views. The photographs were taken by Dorsett on several plant exploration trips to Asia between 1924 and 1930. There are many handwritten captions and Chinese writing. Materials originated from the USDA New Crops Research Branch offices in Beltsville, Maryland. Some of the photographs may duplicate those found in the Dorsett-Morse Oriental Agricultural Exploration Expedition Collection held in the Special Collections of the USDA National Agricultural Library. Besides photographs, there is a blueprint of the persimmon hot-water processing kiln used to treat Chinese persimmons in Peiping (Beijing), China, and vicinity in 1930. Additionally, there is a typewritten document and notes on the establishment of the Chico (California) Testing and Propagating Garden in 1930. The collection also includes the publication Where Persimmon Was King: P. H. Dorsett's Photographic Tour around Peking, China, 1924-1931, edited by William H. Preston.

Dates

Creation: 1924-1930
Creation: Majority of material found within 1924-1925, 1930

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Biographical Sketch

P. H. (Palemon Howard) Dorsett (1862-1943) was a plant explorer with the U.S.s Department of Agriculture (USDA) Section of Plant Introduction. Dorsett traveled to the persimmon growing region north of Peiping (now Beijing), China. He and his son James explored the region in 1924 and 1925, and returned in 1930 and 1931 with the USDA Oriental Agricultural Exploration Expedition.