Oregon State University
University Archives
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331-4501
Phone: 541-737-2165
Email: archives@oregonstate.edu
Web: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/archives

Guide to the Helen M. Gilkey Papers, 1907-1974


Consult repository.







Encoded by, 2004
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.


Overview of the Collection
 
Repository Name:
 

Oregon State University
University Archives

121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331-4501
Phone: 541-737-2165
Email: archives@oregonstate.edu
Web: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/archives
 
Collection Number:
 

Consult repository.
 
Creator:
 

Gilkey, Helen Margaret, 1886-
 
Title:
 

Helen M. Gilkey Papers
 
Dates:
 

1907-1974 (inclusive)
 
Quantity:
 

2 cubic feet
 
Languages:
 

Materials in English 

 
Summary:
 

These papers were generated and collected by Helen Gilkey, professor of botany and curator of the Herbarium at Oregon Agricultural College until her retirement in 1951. Gilkey's botanical drawings and plant identifications made her a well-known expert in the field.
 

Biographical Note

Helen Margaret Gilkey was born on March 6, 1886, in Montesano, Washington. She moved with her family to Corvallis in 1903. She received her MA at Oregon Agricultural College in 1911 and her PhD at University of California at Berkeley in 1915. From 1915 until 1918, she worked as a scientific illustrator at Berkeley. Curator of the herbarium at OAC from 1918 until 1951, Gilkey was also a Professor of Botany. She had 44 publications to her credit, 10 on vascular plant taxonomy and 10 on Tuberales. Gilkey died in 1972.

Content Description

The papers consist of letters from various colleagues around the U.S. and other persons, usually wishing to have a plant identified or a copy of one of her books; scientific illustrations, many drawn by Gilkey; Greenhouse, Herbarium, and Botany Department histories; notes and notebooks giving detailed descriptions of botanicals, especially fungi; newspaper columns on weeds; 3 radio scripts; and copies of publications about botanicals, notably Northwest weeds and subterranean fungi (truffles), including her 1911 master's thesis, "Oregon Mushrooms."

Arrangement

Organized into 20 subject-oriented groupings containing departmental histories; correspondence; ephemera; research notes and notebooks; papers and publications; and funding records. The folders are arranged alphabetically by subject.

Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation 

Helen M. Gilkey Papers, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

Related Information

Related Materials 

Other materials pertaining to Gilkey's work are in the Herbarium (RG 117) and Botany and Plant Pathology Department (RG 54) Records as well as the Memorabilia Collection. The papers of her sister, Beulah Gilkey, are also held by the Archives.

Subjects

Botanical artists--Oregon--Corvallis.
Botanical illustrations.
Botany--Research--Northwest, Pacific.
Fungi--North America.
Gilkey, Helen Margaret, 1886-
Greenhouses--Oregon--Corvallis.
Handbook of northwest flowering plants.
Herbaria--Oregon--Corvallis.
Mushrooms--Oregon.
Mycology--North America.
Oregon mushrooms.
Oregon State University. Dept. of Botany & Plant Pathology.
Oregon State University. Herbarium.
Truffles--Northwest, Pacific.
Weeds of the Pacific Northwest.
Weeds--Research--Northwest, Pacific.
Winter twigs.
 
Other Creators :
Gilkey, Helen Margaret, 1886-

Detailed Description of the Collection

 
 
Container(s)
Description
 

1

History of Botany and Plant Pathology, 1965
 
 
box
1


Appreciation letters
 
 
box
1


Correspondence, A-R, 1910-1974
 
   

Correspondence, S-Z, 1910-1974
 

Grants, 1951-1964
 
 
Container(s)
Description
 
box
2

Correspondence
 


Reports
 

Greenhouse History & Records, 1919-1960
 
 
Container(s)
Description
 
box
2

Correspondence
 


Greenhouse Committee
 


Pamphlet describing greenhouse
 
 
box
2


Handbook of Northwest Flora correspondence, 1950-1951
 

Manuscripts, Notes, etc.

5 folders
 
 
Container(s)
Description
 
box
2

Scientific descriptions of tuberales (handwritten)
 


Papers (typed)
 
"Taxonomic Notes on Tuberales", "Truffles in America", "New or Otherwise Noteworthy Species of Tuberales".
 
 
box
2


Memorials and poetry, 1959-1973
 
 
box
2


Newspaper clippings, 1919-1972
 

Old Notebooks, undated

2 folders
 
 
Container(s)
Description
 
box
2

"Tuberales"
 


Bacteriology class notebook
 


Miscellaneous notes
 


Poetry about tuberales
 
 
box
2


"Oregon Mushrooms" thesis, 1911
 
 
box
2


Oregon State College funding, 1957-1962
 
 
box
2


Organizations, 1924-1964
 

Radio Talks
 
 
Container(s)
Description
 
box
2

Truffles in America, 1932
 


Poisonous Plants: How to Recognize Them, 1956
 


Untitled, undated
 

Rhododendron Society, 1954-1960
 
 
Container(s)
Description
 
box
2

Correspondence
 


Illustrations
 
 
box
2


"Tuberales of North America" manuscript, 1920
 
 
box
2


Weeds & Poisonous Plants, correspondence, 1952-1964
 
 
box
2


Handbook of Northwest Flowering Plants, 1936
 
 
box
2


Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1957
 
 
box
2


Winter Twigs, 1962
 
 
box
3


Drawings

apx 16x20 in.
 
 
box
4


Pictures, slides, & negatives of plants