Entomology at the RMC
There are many wonderful Entomology-related collections located in the Rare and Manuscript Collections (RMC) at Cornell. For your convenience, several collections are listed below.
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New York State College of Agriculture. Department of Entomology : Browse "works by" and "works about"
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Later Heading: New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Department of Entomology : Browse "works by" and "works about"
- Background and development of the Library of Entomology, Cornell UniversityA talk given before Jugatae, April 5, 1943, by Evelyn S. Claassen, Librarian of the Library of Entomology.
- Effie Brown Earll Slingerland lantern slidesSlides (some hand colored) of butterflies, moths, and worms, made by Mrs. Slingerland at the request of her husband, Professor Mark Vernon Slingerland, and John Henry and Anna Botsford Comstock.
- Glenn Washington Herrick papersScientific addresses; lecture notes on spiders; articles and bulletins; page proofs and original drawings and illustrations for Insect Enemies of Shade Trees; and much more!
- Henry Dietrich correspondenceCorrespondence between Professor Dietrich and professional colleagues, mainly O.A. Johannsen, Cornelius Betten, and J.G. Needham.
- J. Chester Bradley papersIncludes Bradley's A MANUAL OF THE GENERA OF BEETLES, NORTH OF MEXICO; manuscripts for papers; lecture notes and teaching materials; field notebooks, drawings, and typed and handwritten notes; personal and professional correspondence; bibliographies; glass slides and mounted photographs of entomological subjects and expeditions, including the First Cornell University Biological Expedition to the Okefenoke Swamp in Georgia and a later expedition through Arizona and California, as well as a few Ithaca area scenes; photograph albums; includes much material on wasps. Also, correspondence with J. Henry Comstock and others.
- James G. Needham papersIncludes correspondence pertaining to the taxonomic study of dragonflies; correspondence, typed reports, and printed material pertaining to the organization and administration of the Department of Entomology at Cornell; Needham's log of his trip to China (1927-1928); and papers concerning his teaching career and educational philosophy; and much more!
- John Henry and Anna Botsford Comstock papersIncludes personal correspondence of Anna Botsford and Henry John (later John Henry) Comstock, 1859-1923, professional correspondence (1878-1926) documenting John Henry Comstock's influence in the development of entomology departments in colleges throughout the United States, ...and much more!
- John Henry Comstock collection of photographs of entomologistsPhotographs of entomologists, both individually and in groups at conferences, together with some photographs of entomology and natural history buildings and laboratories that formerly existed at Cornell University.
- Mark Vernon Slingerland itemsObituary clipping on Professor Slingerland, attached to the first page of a five page, handwritten essay on Slingerland from J. H. Comstock; appreciation address, handwritten and delivered by J. H. Comstock to members of Jugatae on March 15, 1909; three typewritten copies of an address given by Liberty Hyde Bailey to members of Jugatae (which also appeared in the April 1909 Cornell Countryman, Vol. 6, No. 7); and a two-page biography of Singerland, believed composed by Anna Botsford Comstock.
- William Ernest Blauvelt papersCorrespondence and experimental results relating to Blauvelt's research in entomology at Cornell University. Also, letters written to his parents about his student life at Cornell University, 1925-1930, with descriptions of Alpha Zeta fraternity, and his work as a County Extension agent in Orange County, N.Y., 1927.
- William T. M. Forbes papersCorrespondence, book manuscripts, and notes of William T. M. Forbes. Correspondents include, among others, Vladimir Nabokov.
Mann Library Special Collections
In addition to the collections at RMC, Mann Library also holds many exquisite items in the climate-controlled vault in the lower level of the building. Items can be paged for viewing on the 2nd floor reading room. You can find more details about Mann Library Special Collections, and how to request them on our website. Included below is just a sample of the many treasures in the vault.
Rare works by Cornell authors:
- A laboratory guide to the study of the evolution of the wings of insects, by James Chester BradleyIncludes another set of plates with handwritten notations. Part of original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE)
- The wings of insects an exposition of the uniform terminology of the wing-veins of insects and a discussion of the more general characteristics of the wings of the several orders of insects, by John Henry Comstock.Part of original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE)
- The wings of insects a series of articles on the structure and development of the wings of insects, with special reference to the taxonomic value of the characters presented by the wings, by John Henry Comstock and James G. Needham.Part of original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE) Bound in publisher's cloth.
- The elements of insect anatomy an outline for the use of students in the entomological laboratories of Cornell University and Leland Stanford Junior University, by John Henry Comstock and Vernon L. Kellogg.Part of original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE) Bound in publisher's cloth.
- Guide to practical work in elementary entomology an outline for the use of students in the entomological laboratory of Cornell University, by John Henry ComstockPart of original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE)
Insects of the World
- 日本通俗昆蟲圖說 / Nihon tsūzoku konchū zusetsu / Illustrated common insects of JapanLibrary has: v.1, 5
Notes: Part of the original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE) - Natural history of the insects of India containing upwards of two hundred and twenty figures and descriptions, by E. DonovanPart of original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE)
- A selection of the insects of China drawn, by Sophia Cornwall.Some of the illustrations from E. Donovan's An epitome of the natural history of the insects of China ... (London, 1798)--apparently later copied by S. Cornwall and presented to her husband, Robert W. Shaw, as a gift. From the inscription on the first of two leaves that precede the t.p., in ink: "Robt W Shaw, from his affectionate wife Sophia. 1830[.]" Immediately below that inscription is another, in pencil: "H. [or possibly G.] C. Shaw 1875[.]"
Each of 24 colored plates is preceded by a guard sheet. Part of original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE) - A history of the spiders of Great Britain and Ireland, by John Blackwall ...Plates accompanied by descriptive letterpress.Kept in Rare Oversize. Part of original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE)
- Biologia centrali-americana Insecta. Rhynchota. Hemiptera-HomopteraIssued in parts.
Vol. 1 by W.L. Distant and W.W. Fowler; v. 2, pt. 1 by W.W. Fowler; v. 2, pt. 2 by T.D.A. Cockerell.
Cover-titles: Biologia centrali-americana; or, Contributions to the knowledge of the fauna and flora of Mexico and Central America. Ed. by F. Ducane Godman and Osbert Salvin.
Aug. 1898-1909, ed. by F. Ducane Godman. Part of original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE) - The entomology of Australia, in a series of monographs, by George Robert GrayPart of original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE)
- De Europische insecten naauwkeurig onderzogt, na't leven geschildertDutch. Title in red and black, with vignette in colors; tailpiece in colors.
- Malaysian spiders, by Thomas Workman.Library has: v.1-2
Part of original Comstock Memorial Library of Entomology (CMLE)