Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

Related

• - Browse neighboring items by call number.
• Collection: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

• Title: John Bartram House & Garden, 54th Street & Lindbergh Boulevard, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA
• Creator(s): Historic American Landscapes Survey, creator
• Related Names:
     Bartram, John
     Bartram, William
     Eastwick, Andrew
     Carr, Ann Bartram
     Carr, Robert
     Bartram, John
     Carr, John Bartram
     Meehan, Thomas
     Sargent, Charles S
     John Bartram Association
     Boucher, Jack E , photographer
     John Bartram Association , sponsor
     Historic Bartram's Garden , sponsor
     Arzola, Robert R , project manager
     Lavoie, Catherine C , project manager
     Calderon, David , delineator
     Fry, Joel T , historian
     Elliott, Joseph E. B. , photographer
• Date Created/Published: Documentation compiled after 2000
• Medium: Photo(s): 57
  Color Transparencies: 4
  Measured Drawing(s): 5
  Data Page(s): 136
  Photo Caption Page(s): 7
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html)
  
• Call Number: HALS PA-1
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
• Notes:
  • For additional documentation, see also John Bartram House (HABS PA-1132)
  • Significance: Bartram's Garden is the oldest surviving botanic garden in the United States. John Bartram (1699 1777), the well-known early American botanist, explorer, and plant collector, founded the garden in September 1728 when he purchased a 102-acre farm in Kingsessing Township, Philadelphia County. John Bartram's garden began as a personal landscape, but with a lifelong devotion to plants grew to become a systematic collection as he devoted more time to exploration and the discovery of new North American species and examples. Its evolution over time both reflected and fostered Bartram's vital scientific achievements and important intellectual exchange. Although not the first botanic collection in North America, by the middle of the eighteenth century Bartram's Garden contained the most varied collection of North American plants in the world, and placed John Bartram at the center of a lucrative business centered on the transatlantic transfer of plants. Following the American Revolution, Bartram's sons John Bartram, Jr. (1743-1812) and William Bartram (1739-1823), continued the international trade in plants and expanded the family's botanic garden and nursery business. Following his father's lead, William became an important naturalist, artist, and author in his own right, and under his influence the garden became an educational center that aided in training a new generation of natural scientists and explorers. William's Travels, published in 1791, chronicled his own exploration efforts and remains a milestone in American literature. After 1812, Ann Bartram Carr (1779 1858), a daughter of John Bartram, Jr., maintained the family garden and business with her husband Colonel Robert Carr (1778 1866) and his son John Bartram Carr (1804 1839). Their commercial activities remained focused on international trade in native North American plants, although domestic demand also grew under their management. In 1850, financial difficulties led to the historic garden's sale outside the family to Andrew M. Eastwick (1811-1879), who preserved it as a private park for his estate. Upon Eastwick's 1879 death, a campaign to preserve the garden was organized by Thomas Meehan (1826-1901), in Philadelphia, with national assistance from Charles S. Sargent of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1891, control of the site was turned over to the City of Philadelphia and it remains protected as a city park. Since that time, the John Bartram Association, formally organized in 1893, has overseen preservation efforts and historical comprehension of the garden, the John Bartram House, and a number of surviving outbuildings. Presently, the garden's plant collection includes only a few extant examples dating from the Bartram family occupancy; however, documentation for what was once in cultivation is rich. More importantly, despite wanting care and interpretation during the first century of public ownership and the disappearance of a number of subsidiary physical elements in the landscape, the garden's rectilinear framework designed and laid out by Bartram during the second quarter of the eighteenth century is still recognizable. Bartram's Garden's physical endurance and resonant associative meanings make the site an unparalleled location for comprehending an array of historical facets related to John Bartram, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century botanic studies, the North American plant and seed business, and period domestic life in Philadelphia.
  • Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N4
  • Survey number: HALS PA-1
  • Building/structure dates: after 1728 Initial Construction
  • Building/structure dates: after 1728 Initial Construction
  • National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000676
• Subjects:
  • gardens
  • botany
  • plant trading
  • historic sites
  • Quakers
• Place:
  • Pennsylvania--Philadelphia County--Philadelphia
• Latitude/Longitude: 39.932084, -75.212353
• Collections:
  • Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
• Part of: Historic American Landscapes Survey (Library of Congress)
• Bookmark This Record:
     https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/pa3904/

Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For further rights information, see "Rights Information" below and the Rights and Restrictions Information page ( https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/rights.html ).

• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Call Number: HALS PA-1
• Medium: Photo(s): 57
  Color Transparencies: 4
  Measured Drawing(s): 5
  Data Page(s): 136
  Photo Caption Page(s): 7

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

• Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
• Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
• If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
• Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
• Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
• If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
• Data Pages
• Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

• Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
• P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
• Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
• You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
• Make note of the Call Number listed above.
• Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
• The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
• All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

• Call Number: HALS PA-1
• Medium: Photo(s): 57
  Color Transparencies: 4
  Measured Drawing(s): 5
  Data Page(s): 136
  Photo Caption Page(s): 7

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

   • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.

     As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)

   • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

   • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.

   • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.

3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.