Archival Adventures: Orchidology
Archival Adventures: Orchidology
It's time for an adventure! This week we're visiting the early 20th century to learn about orchids with the Robert A. Harper collection. Harper was a botanist educated at Oberlin College and with a doctorate from Strasburger Brefeld in Germany. In 1898, he became a professor and head of botany at the University of Wisconsin. Then, in 1911, he became head of the botany department at Columbia University. He also served as the chief of the board of scientific directors of the New York Botanical Garden.
This collection features approximately 200 photographs of orchid specimins along with some papers from Harper. We'll use those photographs as inspiration to learn about orchids, a family of plants so interesting it has its own specialized branch of botany. Learn more about the collection before the show: https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viblbv_repositories_2_resources_2243
Join our community collections archivist, Anthony Wright de Hernandez, for a livestream on Twitch! Every week we explore and discuss materials from Special Collections and University Archives covering topics including university history, NASA pioneers, architecture, science fiction, cooking, LGBTQ+ history, Black history, urban legends, and more. Recordings of previous streams are available on the Libraries' Youtube page.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, welcome! Please email library-event-accessibility@groups.office365.vt.edu at least 10 days prior to the event.
- Date:
- Wednesday, June 24, 2026 Show more dates
- Time:
- 3:00pm - 5:00pm
- Audience:
- Advanced Alumni Beginners Faculty/Staff Graduate Students Postdoc Public Undergraduates
- Categories:
- Event > Livestream
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Contact:
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Community Collections Archivist
Special Collections and University Archives (0434)