State Paleontologist's research and publication files B1511

State Paleontologist's research and publication files

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Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

Summary:

This series consists primarily of research material and articles written by the New York State Paleontologist for publications, such as "The Conservationist," and journals of professional scholarship. Topics include taxonomy, classification, and description of fauna and flora fossils; descriptions of strata; geology of specific localities throughout New York State; tectonics and geological nomenclature. Also included are articles written by other authors; correspondence, hand drawn maps; field notes; photographs; drawings; diagrams; galleys; and reprints of published articles.

Creator:

New York State Geological Survey

Title:

State Paleontologist's research and publication files

Quantity:

4.75 cubic feet

Inclusive Dates:

1952-1979

Series Number:

B1511

Arrangement

B1511-97:Alphabetical by subject.

B1511-09:Unarranged.

Administrative History

Dr. Donald W. Fisher was Assistant New York State Paleontologist (1953-1954) and New York State Paleontologist (1955-1982).

Scope and Content Note

This series consists primarily of research material and articles written by Dr. Donald W. Fisher, New York State Paleontologist (1955-1982). The articles were written for a variety of popular publications, such as "The Conservationist," as well as journals of professional scholarship.

Topics of the material vary widely and include taxonomy, classification, and description of fauna and flora fossils; descriptions of strata; geology of specific localities throughout New York State; tectonics; and geological nomenclature. Articles for popular periodicals deal with such topics as where to look for fossils; regional prehistory; recent discoveries; and explanations of the origins of local geological features.

The records also include copies of articles written by other authors and reviews of them by Dr. Fisher; material related to professional conferences; exhibit design; administrative files; and subject and research material apparently unrelated to publication topics. A small amount of material dates from Dr. Fisher's tenure as Senior Paleontologist and Stratigrapher.

Types of material in the series include hand drawn maps; correspondence and memoranda; printed maps with notations and corrections; handwritten rough drafts; typed copies with notations and corrections; carbon copies; field notes; photographs; drawings; diagrams; galleys; and reprints of published articles.

A significant amount of correspondence related to publications includes letters and copies of replies to publishers, coauthors, reviewers, editors, members of the geological community, and members of the general public; comments by colleagues on manuscripts and published articles; and comments by Dr. Fisher on articles written by other authors.

B1511-09: This accretion, similarly, consists of correspondence, reviews, photographs, and draft material chiefly related to the scientific publications of Dr. Donald W. Fisher and his colleagues. Other records include proposals and timetables for field and research projects, requests for reprints of published articles, and newspaper articles on recent local geologic discoveries.

Related Material

Series B1058, Photographic prints and negatives of fossil tentaculitids, include illustrations for Dr. Fisher's seminal writing, "Small Conoidal Shells of Uncertain Affinities". Series B0579, A4211, and B0582 contain writings of other New York State Paleontologists.