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A Guide to his Papers at the Indiana University Archives

Finding aid prepared by Ashley Zengerski

Summary Information

Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives

Creator
Heiser, Charles B. (Charles Bixler), 1920-

Title
Charles B. Heiser papers, 1936-2007

Collection No.
C473

Extent
16.6 cubic feet (18 boxes)

Language
Materials are primarily in English.Some are in Spanish, Russian, Japanese, German, Hungarian, Latin, and French.

Abstract
Charles B. Heiser was a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Botany at Indiana University and considered to be an authority on capsicum, tortora and gourds. The collection consists of his research and correspondence.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.

Biographical Note

Charles "Charley" Heiser, born in 1920 in Cynthiana, Indiana, was a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Botany at Indiana University. He received his undergraduate and master's degrees from Washington University in St. Louis in 1944, and his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley in 1947. Heiser joined the faculty at Indiana University in 1947.

During his professional career, Heiser served as president of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, vice president of the Society for the Study of Evolution and as a council member for the Society of Economic Botany.

A distinguished scholar, Heiser received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1953 and was named a NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in 1962. Additionally, Heiser was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, a prestigious distinction given only to the top scholars in the field. In honor of this accomplishment, a portrait of Heiser was hung in Indiana University’s Indiana Memorial Union. Other awards include the New York Botanical Garden's Henry Allan Gleason Award and the American Society of Plant Taxonomists Asa Gray Award.

Heiser was considered to be an authority on a variety of plants including capsicum, tortora and gourds. He also published a number of books written for both scholars and people without botanical experience, most notably "Seeds to Civilization" "Weeds in My Garden" and "Nightshades: The Paradoxical Plants."

Dr. Heiser retired from Indiana University in 1986, and died in 2010.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into two series: Research and publications and Correspondence. The Research and Publications series is further organized into nine subseries: Gourds, Seed to civilization, Of plants and people, Solanum, Sunflower, Capsicum, Tortora, Weeds and General.

Scope and Content Note

The Heiser papers are organized into two series: Research and publications and Correspondence. The Research and publications series is further organized into nine subseries, based on the particular publication or research project: Gourds, Seed to civilization, Of plants and people, Solanum, Sunflower, Capsicum, Tortora, Weeds and General.

The Gourds (1946-1994, undated) subseries of the Research and publications series consists primarily of manuscripts and research for Heiser's publication, "The Gourd Book." Contents of the book are focused on the different varieties, geographic locations and uses of gourds. Heiser also performed a significant amount of research on a specific type of gourd, the luffa. Publications, research and correspondence on luffa are also located in this subseries.

The Seed to civilization (1954-1998, undated) subseries consists of Heiser's research, photographs and correspondence relevant to his book titled "Seed to Civilization." Several plates and manuscript proofs are located in oversize boxes.

The next subseries, Of plants and people (1962-1991, undated), contains photographs and research for the various components of Heiser's book of the same title. Correspondence regarding the contract and production of the book can be found in the "Publication Correspondence" folder.

The Solanum (1945-2007, undated) subseries of the Research and publications series contains research on the varieties of solanum, with the focus on collecting publications of colleagues on the subject. Correspondence, mostly regarding seed requests, can also be found in this subseries.

The Sunflower (1944-1990, undated) subseries consists primarily of research-related photographs and planting data on the varieties of helianthus.

The next subseries in Research and publications, Capsicum (1947-2002, undated), consists primarily of research on the various varieties of capsicum and correspondence with colleagues. Heiser served as a consultant for the McIlhenny Company (the makers of Tabasco sauce) regarding species identification of their main ingredient, and records of correspondence are located in this subseries.

The Tortora (1945-1993) subseries of the Research and publications series contains research on the Latin American region and utilization of the thick tortora plant stems to construct boats and mats.

The Weeds (1950-2005, undated) subseries consists primarily of copies of drafts for Heiser's book on weeds. There are a few files containing research on the different species, locations and uses of weeds.

The final subseries in the Research and publications series, General (1947-2005, undated) contains research files for smaller publications, collections of seeds, and general resources on botany.

The Correspondence (1936-2007, undated) series contains letters to and from Heiser's colleagues. Many of the files contain several decades of communication and may thus include details about Heiser's personal life. Frequent correspondents include botanist Edgar Anderson as well as former students and botanists Gregory J. Anderson and Barbara Pickersgill. The files are arranged alphabetically by last name.

• Indexing Terms

• The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the catalog using these terms.

• • Names
  • Heiser, Charles B. (Charles Bixler), 1920- --Archives
  • Heiser, Charles B. (Charles Bixler), 1920- --Correspondence
  • Indiana University. Department of Botany--Faculty--Archives
  • Indiana University. Department of Plant Sciences--Faculty--Archives
• • Topics
  • Botany --Study and teaching (Higher)--Indiana--Bloomington--History--Sources

Separated Material

Oversize sketches and figures are located in the Archives flat file drawer B1 (storage room). One small box of seeds in envelopes and tobacco seeds stored in Archives memorabilia cabinet.

Photographs Pulled

Most of the photographs in the collection relate to Heiser’s research and remain within the collection. Random photos were pulled and are stored with the Archives Photograph Collection:

Photos from the Retirement binder, 1986 folder in the Correspondence series:

Charles Heiser

Gregory Anderson

Peter Bretting

Donald Burton

Jeff Doyle

William Emboden

Hardy Eshbaugh

John Furlow

Don Gordon

Gustav Hall

Jack Humbles

Don Hudson

Ray Jackson

Eugene James

Susan Kephart

David Kramer

William Martin

Robert Neher

Alvin Reeves

Dale Smith

Jorge Soria

Edward Schilling

Warren Stoutamire

Andrew Torres

Susan Verhoek

Hugh Wilson

Willard Yates

Related Material

Additional publications and research materials may be accessed in IUScholarworks.

Related photographs may be available in the University Archives Photographs Database.

Administrative Information

Container List

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