Henry Solon Graves papers

The papers consist of correspondence, writings, diaries, notes, photographs, and other papers relating to the personal life and professional career of Henry Solon Graves, a forester who served as the first director of the Yale University School of Forestry (1900-1910), the chief forester for the United States Department of Agriculture (1910-1920), Sterling Professor of Forestry and Dean of the School of Forestry, and provost of the university (1923-1927.) The collection documents Graves' academic and administrative career, his professional writings and activities, and his service during World War I as a forestry engineer in France.

The papers are arranged in fifty-three (53) boxes totaling 23 linear feet. Span dates for the collection are 1877-1952, and the papers are arranged in three series: I. CORRESPONDENCE, 1896-1952; II. TOPICAL FILES, 1877-1951; III. PRINTED MATERIAL, 1903-1951.

SERIES I, CORRESPONDENCE, 1896-1952, contains letters relating to Graves' Yale University responsibilities as an educator and administrator and as a prominent national figure in the fields of forestry, conservation, and education. Individual correspondents include: Gifford Pinchot, William Howard Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt. Important correspondence is also arranged under topical headings established by Graves, including: American Forestry Association, Educational Planning, General Education Board, and Personal. Graves corresponded with several university figures in the course of his career, and also with many individuals and organizations active in the fields of forestry and conservation.

SERIES II, TOPICAL FILES, 1877-1951, contains correspondence, writings, diaries, photographs, and other papers relating to Graves' professional career. Examples of Graves' writings are arranged in "Addresses and articles" (folders 174-179) and "Writings" (folders 524-525). A more complete selection of writings are arranged in SERIES III.

Grave's role in formulating and advocating national forestry policy and legislation is reflected in files organized under the headings "Bills" (folders 188-207), "Forest policy" (folders 281-301), "Grazing" (folders 323-330), "Policy" (folders 430-432),"Public domain" (folders 436-441), and others.

Diaries (folders 223-247) consist of several volumes of notes compiled by Graves from 1914-1948, including items relating to Alaska, an Education Study, Field notes, India, and other trips and projects. Lecture notes (folders 343-372) contain notes on several lectures relating to forestry and conservation topics such as forest economics, Indian lands, and taxation.

Photographs (folders 405-429) document many of Graves' travels around the world, including trips to Alaska, India, Cuba, and the Philippines. Other topics represented in this series include: Forest services, Forestry services, Land, Lumber code, Parks, Railroads, Redwood League, Timber Conservation Board, and World War I.

SERIES, PRINTED MATERIAL, 1903-1951, consists of bound volumes of typescripts. The articles, speeches, essays, and reports contained in these volumes include many writings which were published. The volumes contain a group of papers arranged in chronological order (volumes 1-4), a group of papers relating to national forests arranged by state, and other papers.