Ilgenfritz Nursery records
Scope and Contents
The Ilgenfritz Nursery records contain catalogs, price lists, advertisement, and inventory records relating to the nursery. In addition are competitor catalogs, and general horticulture and nursery information. The collection also contains a large quantity of photographs, slides and negatives. Many of the images are of plants that were taken for catalogs or advertisements, in addition there are images of nursery scenes, plants, tractors, and homes. There are also slides of a trip to Central America in 1967 with scenes of the country and orchids.
Dates
- Creation: 1932 - 1980
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.
Biographical/Historical
I. E. (Israel Epley) Ilgenfritz (1824-1895) founded the Monroe Nursery in 1847 in Monroe, Michigan. Ilgenfritz was born in Pennsylvania and moved from Germantown to Monroe where he became a pioneer in the nursery business.
Known for its fruit trees, ornamental plants and trees, the Monroe Nursery was one of the largest nursery businesses in the United States. It was hailed by The National Nurseryman in 1921 as "the largest, oldest and most complete nursery in Michigan." It was incorporated under the name I. E. Ilgenfritz' Sons Company in 1902. It remained in business until 1982 when it was sold by the family.
James I. E. Ilgenfritz, great-grandson of the founder, graduated from Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) in 1954.
Extent
9.25 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Legal Status
Copyright: Michigan State University. Property Rights: Michigan State University.
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Ilgenfritz Nursery Records
- Status
- 4 Published And Cataloged
- Author
- M. Badgley
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives and Historical Collections Repository
Conrad Hall
943 Conrad Road, Room 101
East Lansing MI 48824 US
517-355-2330
archives@msu.edu