The Bromeliad Society International (BSI) Archive consists of historical materials, including photographs related to cultivation of bromeliads; field notes related to the collection of bromeliads in the wild; list of plant entries in judged bromeliad shows; incoming and outgoing correspondence from early bromeliad growers; biographies; administrative records of the BSI such as, copyright registrations, copies of meeting minutes, annual reports, and bylaws; BSI publications; and ephemera, including posters and pins. The purpose of the BSI is to promote and maintain public and scientific interest in the research, development, preservation, and distribution of bromeliads, both natural and hybrid, throughout the world.
This collection is comprised of 3 half-boxes of photographic slides taken by Donald Alton Beadle. These slides show a variety of bromeliad plants. Beadle dedicated his time to hybridizing and creating different types of bromeliads, including the Billbergia 'Hallelujah,' eventually buying a nursery and photographing them so they could be displayed to a wider audience.
Michael A. Spencer assembled this collection of publications, photographs, drawings, correspondence programs and other materials focusing on the discovery, taxonomy and cultivation of bromeliads. Mulford B. Foster, Racine Foster and Lyman B. Smith are among the significant bromeliad collectors whose work is documented here.
Henry Nehrling was a horticulturist famous for his gardens in Gotha and Naples, Florida. These materials were collected by Michael Spencer because of his interest in botany and his links with Central Florida. Of particular interest are Nehrling's notebooks, correspondence, photographs and plant labels. The collection also contains a few materials, which belonged to Mr. Spencer concerning the attempts to save Nehrling's Palm Cottage Gardens.
Julian Nally grew bromeliads and other plants on the property that had once belonged to Henry Nehrling at Gotha, Florida. This collection documents both his work at the property and his personal life.
