Collection Summary
Ralph E. Griswold Papers 1940-1968
1940-1968
MSS48587
Griswold, Ralph E.
1,000 items
8 containers plus 3 oversize
5 linear feet
English
Collection material in English
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Landscape architect. Unpublished book by
Griswold on the creators throughout history of garden, including correspondence,
lectures, research material, travel notes, printed matter, maps, and photographs
connected to the work.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Griswold, Ralph E. (Ralph Esty), 1894-1981.
Subjects
Landscape architects.
Landscape architecture.
Occupations
Landscape architects.
Provenance
The papers of Ralph E. Griswold, landscape architect, were given to the Library of
Congress by Griswold in 1972.
Processing History
The collection was processed circa 1975. The finding aid was revised in 2014.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Ralph E. Griswold is governed
by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Ralph E. Griswold are open to research. Researchers are advised to
contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored
off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information:
Container number, Ralph E. Griswold Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1894, Aug. 22
Born, Warren, Ohio
1916
B.S., and M.A. in architecture, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
1917
1919
Stationed in France as camouflage officer during World War I
1920
Married Dorothy Elizabeth Griffith
1920
1923
Fellow in landscape architecture, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy
1923
1927
Member, landscape architecture firm of A. D. Taylor, Cleveland, Ohio
1927
1930
Landscape architect, Nicolet & Griswold, Pittsburgh, Pa.
1930
Founded landscape architecture firm of Griswold, Winters, Swain & Mullin
1934
1945
Superintendent, Bureau of Parks, Pittsburgh, Pa.
1949
1950
Resident landscape architect, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy
1956
1958
Senior research fellow, Dumbarton Oaks Project, Harvard University, Cambridge,
Mass.
1961
Published
Opportunities in Landscape Architecture.
New York:
Vocational Guidance Manuals
1978
Published with Frederick Doveton Nichols
Thomas Jefferson Landscape
Architect. Charlottesville.
University Press of Virginia
1981
Died
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Ralph E. Griswold (1894-1981) span the years 1940-1968 and consist
entirely of material relating to an unpublished work, “A Biographical History of Garden
Art, a Series of Illustrated Biographical Monographs on the People Who Had a Creative
Influence on the Progress of Garden Art from Its Beginnings,” that he produced as the
first senior research fellow at the Dumbarton Oaks Project, Harvard University, from
1956 to 1958. Griswold was a landscape architect prominent for his designs in public
parks and memorials and as a consultant on historic preservation projects. Included in
the collection in addition to a typewritten copy and an unbound print copy of the
illustrated history is a revised version of the study as well as correspondence,
lectures, research material, travel notes, printed matter, maps, and photographs
connected to the project.
Arrangement of the Papers
The collection is organized by type of material.
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Correspondence, A-Z and unidentified,
1956-1968
1956-1968
(8 folders)
1
Book file, “A Biographical History of Garden Art, a
Series of Illustrated Biographical Monographs on the People Who Had a Creative
Influence on the Progress of Garden Art from Its Beginnings”
[
See also Oversize
](ov1)
1
Complete revision
2
Vols. 1-5
3
Research notes
3
Travel notes and lectures
4
Brochures
4
Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C., 1940-1959
1940-1959
4
Egypt, England, and France
(5 folders)
5
Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands
(5 folders)
6
Portugal, Rome, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey and the Near East
(6 folders)
7
Maps of Egypt, England, Greece, France, Germany,
and the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the Near East
(7 folders)
8
Photographs from Egypt, England, France, Germany,
Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Rome, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey
(11 folders)
OV 1-OV 3
Oversize
OV 1-OV 3
Book file
OV 1-OV 3
“A Biographical History of Garden Art, a
Series of Illustrated Biographical Monographs on the People Who Had a
Creative Influence on the Progress of Garden Art from Its Beginnings” (Container 1)