Guide to the Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture records 1887-1954

of 8 Guide to the Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture records 1887-1954 Fleet Library at RISD 2 College Street Providence, RI 02903 Tel: 401-709-5922 Fax: 401-709-5932 email: risdarchives@risd.edu Published in 2010 Collection overview Title: Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture records Date range: 1887-1954 Creator: Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture

of 8 Extent: Abstract: Language of materials: Repository:.50 linear feet The records document real estate transactions for the Groton, MA property (1887-1934) and incorporation (1909/1929). Publications include Endowment Campaign materials (1923-1925), course catalogs (1910-1945; incomplete), and Annual Reports (1928-1931). English Collection number: SP 2.0 Scope & content The records document real estate transactions for the Groton, MA property (1887-1934) and incorporation (1909/1929). Publications include Endowment Campaign materials (1923-1925), course catalogs (1910-1945; incomplete), and Annual Reports (1928-1931). The bulk of the collection is comprised of the catalogs which document courses offered, the academic calendar, tuition and room/board, corporation officers, members, patrons, and advisors, administrators and instructors, School background and history, pictures and illustrations of student/alumni projects, and photographs of the School grounds and individuals. One folder contains alumni survey postcards returned by students, 1935-1937. The cards record the name, address, dates of attendance, graduate/non-graduate, and work history. Three Library accession books record the publications acquired by the School, 1926-1945. See the RISD-Providence Athenaeum Online Public Catalog for works transferred to the RISD Library. Arrangement Organized into 3 series: I. Corporate Records, 1887-1954 II. Publications, 1910-1945 III. Library Accession Books, 1926-1945

of 8 Historical note Located in Groton, MA, the Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture, Gardening and Horticulture for Women opened in 1901 under the direction of Judith Eleanor Low. The first school of its kind for women, Lowthorpe incorporated in 1909 and changed its name to the Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture in 1929. The School merged with Rhode Island School of Design in 1945, becoming a Department within the Division of Planning. Lowthorpe offered summer programs with the Cambridge School of Domestic Architecture and Landscape Architecture, 1926-1927. Lowthorpe entered into a cooperative program with Simmons College, 1928-circa 1936, though the School did not grant degrees. A winter program was given at MIT during the 1930s. Access & use Access to the collection: Use of materials: Preferred citation: Contact information: The use of certain documents and collections may be restricted. Please consult the Archives staff for further details. Permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from archival materials must be obtained in writing from the Archives. The researcher assumes full responsibility for use of material and for conformity to all applicable laws, including copyright. Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture records Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture records, SP 2.0, Fleet Library at RISD 2 College Street Providence, RI 02903 Tel: 401-709-5922 Fax: 401-709-5932 email: risdarchives@risd.edu

of 8 Administrative information About the collection Aquisition: Series 1 transferred to RISD 1954 July 12 by Adams Sherman Hill, former Treasurer of Lowthorpe. Held by RISD Treasurer until transferred to Campus Services then to the Archives. Series 2 and 3 transferred from RISD Library. About the finding aid Author: Finding aid prepared by Douglas Doe Encoding: Finding aid encoded by Douglas Doe 2010 January 26 Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) Search terms Names: Subjects: Low, Judith Eleanor Motley, d1841-1933 Landscape Architecture

of 8 Inventory Series I, Corporate records, 1887-1954 Deeds, leases, mortgages, and correspondence document the purchase of the Groton property by Parker Fletcher (1887) and J. Eleanor Low (1901), the transfer of the property to the Lowthorpe School (1915-1916), leases, and the sale of land in 1934. Included are the incorporation (1909) and name change (1929) documents issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as the records transfer correspondence (1954). One folder contains alumni survey postcards returned by students, 1935-1937. The cards record the name, address, dates of attendance, graduate/non-graduate, and work history. Container Description Date 1 Land Purchase Records 1887-1901 2 Incorporation 1909, 1929 3 Lease 1913 4 Property Transfer 1915-1916 5 Lease 1917 6 Land Sale 1934 7 Records Transfer 1954 32 Alumni Survey Cards 1935-1937 Series II, Publications, 1910-1945 Catalogs for the School (1910-1945; incomplete) may provide information on courses offered, the academic calendar, tuition and room/board, corporation officers, members, patrons, and advisors, administrators and instructors, School background and history, pictures and illustrations of student/alumni projects, and photographs of the School grounds and individuals. The Annual Reports (1928-1931) may provide information on finances, corporation officers and committee reports, fundraising, and School activities. The Endowment Campaign begun in 1923 is documented by pamphlets and correspondence.

of 8 Container Description Date 8 Annual Reports 1928-1931 9 Endowment Campaign 1923-1925 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Catalog 1910 Catalog 1914-1915 Catalog 1917-1918 Catalog 1923 Catalog 1924-1925 Catalog 1925-1926 Catalog 1926-1927 17 Catalog: Cambridge Lowthorpe Summer School 1927 18 19 20 Catalogs 1927-1928 Catalog: Simmons College 1928 Catalog 1928-1929

of 8 21 22 23 24 25 26 30 Calendar 1929-1931 Catalogs 1932-1933 Catalogs 1933-1936 Catalogs 1936-1937 Catalogs 1937-1941 Catalogs 1941-1945 Lectures and Conferences 1926-1932 31 Plant Sales circa 1911-192-? Series III, Library accession books, 1926-1945 Three condensed accession books record publications acquired by the School, 1926-1945. The books record the accession number, author, title, publisher, year, cost, and origin (gift or purchase). Numbering is not consecutive and not all numbers are used. Book One, 1926-1932, records 1-1049; Book Two, 1933-1939, records 1-1001; and Book Three, 1940-1945, records 1002-1332. Books transferred to RISD are maintained in the Library as the Lowthorpe Collection on Landscape Architecture. See the RISD-Providence Athenaeum Online Public Catalog. Container Description Date 27 1926-1932 undated

of 8 28 29 1933-1939 undated 1940-1945 undated