Guide to the Alfred Otto Gross Papers, 1883-1970
No restrictions.
Digital materials may be used for research, educational, and non-commercial purposes without our written permission. For information about publication, visit our policies page or contact scaref@bowdoin.edu.
Three 16 mm film reels showing the Bowdoin College Scientific Station on Kent Island (New Brunswick, Canada) and five 35 mm film reels: "The Heath Hen" (1 reel) and Birds of Grenfelland" (4 reels) have been digitized and are available online. See Film Recordings series.
Alfred Otto Gross Papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine
The George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, like all archives and special collections libraries, is the creation of human beings who have collected, organized, and described things in ways that reflect personal, cultural, societal, and institutional biases. Although we strive to preserve and present collections in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections, we acknowledge that our systems are neither neutral nor perfect. We encourage you to let us know if you encounter materials, descriptive language, or practices that are offensive or harmful, particularly those for which inadequate context or warning is offered. We are committed to modifying and updating our descriptive practices to use respectful and inclusive terminology and appreciate your help in this work. We look forward to supporting you in your research and learning together.
Internationally known ornithologist, Alfred O. Gross, was born April 8, 1883, in Atwood, Illinois. His parents Henry, a merchant, and Sophia, were immigrants from Kadelburg, Germany. Gross received his Ph.D from Harvard in 1912. He married Edna Gross in Reading, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1913; they had three children, William (Bowdoin 1937), Thomas (Bowdoin 1940), and Edna.
Gross was instructor (1912-13) and professor of biology at Bowdoin (1913-53) and the first director of Bowdoin's Scientific Station on Kent Island (located in New Brunswick, Canada); he received an honorary degree from the college in 1952. A Fellow and Patron of the American Ornithologists Union, Gross served as ornithologist on Donald B. MacMillan's Arctic expeditions of 1934 and 1937, and was the author of 265 scientific articles and books. He devoted his life to the study of birds, with a special emphasis on the Heath Hen and the Ruffed Grouse.
Gross continued to conduct research and write articles and scholarly reviews until shortly before his death in Greenwich, Connecticut on May 9, 1970. He was a friend of poet and novelist Robert P. T. Coffin, and author Thornton Burgess.
The collection contains correspondence (1883-1970, n.d.), including some family letters; draft and printed versions of articles, many in clipping scrapbooks, including those written for the Maine Coast Fisherman; journals, notebooks, etc. (1900-66), some from his student days, from the arctic expeditions, and on Herring Gull/Cormorant control; material concerning the Donald B. MacMillan 1934 and 1937 Arctic expeditions; notes, etc. relating to the New England Ruffed Grouse investigation (1926-33, n.d.) and to the Heath Hen census on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts (1928-33, n.d.); an autobiographical essay; ornithological and other photographs, negatives and motion picture film; and material relating to Gross or his career.
- Photographs
Preservation, digitization, and duplication of five 35 mm film reels of ornithological film recordings: "The Heath Hen" (1 reel) and "Birds of Grenfelland" (4 reels) generously funded by the National Film Preservation Foundation, 2017.
No restrictions.
Arranged chronologically and alphabetically.
This series contains both letters to Alfred Gross and many carbon copies of letters that Gross sent to colleagues, family, and friends. The earliest and latest years of the chronological series contain more letters from family members. There are also several letters from Edna Gross, Gross' wife, in the undated file. Along with many other ornithologists, Gross assisted A.C. Bent in writing a comprehensive reference work on birds, "Bent's Life Histories of North American Birds." Their letters to one another can be found mainly in the 1940-1959 folders. There is also a regular exchange of letters between Gross and T.E. Musselman (Blue bird ornithologist from Illinois) in the 1960-1968 folder. In addition to the chronological arrangement there are several folders devoted to the letters from one individual or entity to Gross and his responses. Additional personal correspondence folders include bird clubs to which Gross was a member, officers of the bird clubs, and fellow professors.
1910-1918
1920-1925
1926-1929
1930-1939
1940-1949
1950-1959
1960-1968
Bowdoin College (1925-1970, n.d.)
Bowdoin College Lectures (1924-1928, n.d.)
Copeland, Manton (1923-1925)
Federation of the Bird Clubs of New England (1924-1927, n.d.)
Forbes, Stephen (1922-1926) - Illinois
New England Bird Banding Association (1923-1926, n.d.)
Panama Canal and Barro Colorado Island (1924-1927, n.d.) - Zetek, J. Custodian, Barbour, T.
Parker, G.H. (1925) - Harvard University Zoological Laboratory Director
Whittle, Charles (1923-1924) - New England Bird Banding Association Councillor
Undated
Acidic originals
No restrictions.
Arranged alphabetically.
This series contains finished works of various natures and notes to certain public lectures (1918-1959, undated) that Alfred Gross gave over the course of his life. The lectures range in focus from highly scientific discussions of birds presented to the American Ornithologists' Union to general bird observations presented to the Rotary Club of Brunswick, Maine. The notes vary in style and detail from typed speeches to handwritten note cards. Some of the lecture notes are accompanied by slide lists. Also included in the series is a folder of correspondence directly related to Gross' lectures (1921-1927, undated). They are from bird and social clubs all over New England, as well as carbon copies of letters from Gross, and discuss invitations to lecture, equipment requirements, payment, and appreciation. The printed works include final typed drafts of articles written by Gross and colleagues, submitted for publication and returned to the authors upon request. There are also copies of the printed publications in which Gross' work appears as well as works that he referenced or followed with interest. Newsletters and reports released by bird club organizations and state and federal offices are also included in this series. A small number of folders include printed ephemera such as advertisements, national park information booklets, and event programs.
Lecture Advertisement: "Birds of Grenfelland"
Lecture Correspondence: 1921-1927, n.d.
Lecture Correspondence: fragile originals
10th and 11th International Ornithological Congress
"Bird Studies at Barro Colorado, Canal Zone"
"The Camargue", Friends of Bowdoin and Brunswick, Maine Audubon Society, 1959 Sep 26
"Gull-Cormorant Control", Nuttall Club, Hartford Bird Study Club, 1958 May 19
"The Rotary Club Brunswick December 21, 1925"
"Stanton Bird Club Monday December 5, 1921"
"Trings", "Birds seen around the World" slide list
"Scripture Lesson","Maine Federation of Garden Clubs June 18, '58", "Commander MacMillan", "Class of 1918 - 45th Reunion, June 13-14", "Knox Academy of Science"
World Travel - Africa, India, the Middle East, Mexico, Alaska
"Abstract of Possible Contributions to Discussion at Biological Conference" by C. Elton
Advertisement ephemera
American Game Protection and Propagation Association Programs
American Ornithologists' Union Programs, related ephemera, and Correspondence - 1923-1934
American Ornithologists' Union Programs, related ephemera, and Correspondence - 1935-1938, 1930, 1942, 1947, 1954, 1963
Annual Conference of the Massachusetts Fish and Game Association - Programs - 1929, 1930-1934
Annual Report of the Bowdoin Biological Station - 1935-1941
"Another Tame Grouse" by C.G. Weymouth
"Arcturus" with correspondence
"Are Your Grouse Diseased?" by New York State Fish, Game and Forest League
"Atlantic Flyway Waterfowl Newsletter" 1950 May
"The Auket" multiple volumes and issues
"Avian Tuberculosis in the Ruffed Grouse" by J.C. Phillips
Bird Banding - Clippings and Bulletins
"Birds of the Bowdoin-MacMillan Arctic Expedition, 1934"
Black-crowned Heron - Clippings
"Breeding Game Birds: A Profitable Industry"
"British and American Grouse Cycles" by A. Leopold and J. Ball
Bulletin of the American Game Protection Association - 1925 Jan
Bulletin of the Boston Society of Natural History - 1926 Jan and 1927 Jan
Bulletin of the Massachusetts Audubon Society - 1926 Dec
Bureau of Grouse Control - Progress Report 1930, "Annual Report 1931-'32"
Burgess, Thornton - Clippings and related ephemera
The Chickadee: A Journal of Worcester County Ornithology - 1960
Club Announcements - Ephemera
"Cumulative History of Game Cycles and Other Fluctuations in Abundance of Game in North America" by A. Leopold - 1929 Oct, revised 1930 Jun
"Daily Report on Grouse from July 1st to Sept. 1st 1925" by C.G. Weymouth
Disease in Captive Wild Mammals and Birds: Incidence, Description, Comparison - Cover pages only
"Diseases of the Ruffed Grouse" by A.A. Allen
Du Pont Conservation News - 1931 May 15
"Eastern Ruffed Grouse"
"Estimate of what would have been the Amount of Game taken if there had been a 100% Return - 1930" - Location and Author unknown
"Extinct, Your Aunt!"
"The Fiftieth State's Official Bird" by P. Barrett
"Flagellates from the Ruffed Grouse" by E.E. Tyzzer
"Food of the Ruffed Grouse (Compiled from the Literature on the Subject)"
Fourth Annual Report of the Barro Colorado Island Station - 1928 Mar 1
"Game Management is not just Vermin Control" by W.L. McAtee - 1933 Nov
"Great Black-backed Gull"
"The Grouse Disease" by A.A. Allen - 1924 Jan
"The Grouse Situation in Maine" by A.H. Stackpole - 1930 Feb 1
"The Grouse Situation in the Western States" by D.J. Leffingwell - 1929 Jun 14
"Hawaiian Birds" published by the Hawaii Audubon Society
"Heath Hen Clippings: from Newspapers and Magazines" - 1923-1933
Heath Hen, clippings
Heath Hen, cartoon, n.d.
"Heath Hen Report - 1931"
"Heath Hen Report - 1931-1932"
Herring Gull-Cormorant Control Project - Reports - 1942-1953
Inland Bird Banding News - 1945-1957
Inland Bird Banding News - Acidic originals
"Investigating the Ruffed Grouse" by J.C. Phillips - 1927 Jun
"An Investigation of the Periodic Fluctuations in the Numbers of the Ruffed Grouse" by J.C. Phillips - 1926 Jan 22
"An Island in the Tropics" by Alfred O. Gross, 1952 Mar
Joint Meeting of the Northeastern Bird-Banding Association and the Federation of the Bird Clubs of New England, Inc. - Programs - 1929 Jan 15, 1933 Jan 26, 1935 Jan 14
Kartabo - Bulletins of Information and Instruction Sheets
Linnaean News-letter - 1954 Oct
"Maine" by A.O. Gross and A.H. Norton
Articles from the "Maine Coast Fisherman," 1946-1956 / by A.O. Gross
Audit Report for Maine Coast Fisherman 12 months ending
Maine Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit: Quarterly Report - 1959 Jul-Sep and Oct-Dec
Maine Field Naturalist - 1956 Apr
Maine Field Observer - 1960 Oct - 1961 Mar
Maryland Conservationist - 1925 Winter - Article by A.A. Allen has been removed
Massachusetts Animal Census - n.d.
Massachusetts Audubon Society Bulletin - 1961 May
Massachusetts Wildlife - 1988 Spring and Winter
"Memorial: Thomas Lincoln," n.d.
"The Migration of the Kent Island Herring Gulls" - 1940 Oct
Minnesota Wild-life Disease Investigation - Reports - 1934 Jan-Oct, 1936 June, Index of 1933 Jul-Dec
Moon landing - Clippings and map
National Parks and Wildlife Refuges - ephemera
"New England Forest History and Bird Life" - Summary of address by R.T. Fisher - 1929 Jan 15
"Nematodes of Pathological Significance found in some Economically Important Birds in North America" by E.B. Cram
Newspapers, miscellaneous, 1926-1933
"Notes of the Status of the Ruffed Grouse in Pennsylvania" by G.M. Sutton - 1928 Aug-Sep
"Nuttall's Poor-will" by C.W. Howard
"Observations on the Brvmal Retreat of the Swallow" by Thomas Forster, 1813
"Ornithological Collecting Report of the MacMillan Arctic Expedition 1937"
Owls and Hawks - Clippings
Phi Delta Psi Alumnus Bulletin - 1927 Mar 11
"A Portfolio of Venezuelan Birds" by P. Schwartz
"The Present Status of our Knowledge of Poultry Parasitism" by E.B. Cram - 1928 Nov 1
"The Problem of Tularemia in Game Birds" by R.G. Green - 1928 Aug-Sep
"Progress Report of Study of Parasites of the Ruffed Grouse" by E.B. Cram
"Progress Report of the New England Ruffed Grouse Investigation Committee" 1926, 1928-1929
"Report on a Game Survey of Wisconsin" by A. Leopold - 1929 Oct 1
"Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey, 1933" by P.G. Reddington
Report on the Eagles at Cherryfield, Maine
"Ruffed Grouse and Prairie Chicken Investigations" 1931 Dec 1-2
Ruffed Grouse, clippings
Ruffed Grouse, poem, n.d.
"Section of Wildlife Research" by T.G. Scott
Studies on Level Ditching for Marsh Management - Wisconsin Conservation Department - 1956
"Suggestions for Winter Feeding Wisconsin Game Birds" - 1931 Oct
Sunspot articles by R.E. Delury
"To Bring Back the Bluebird" by R. Gannon
Vineyard Gazette - 1933 Apr 21
"A Visit to Tom Lincoln's House with Some Auduboniana" by Charles W. Townsend, 1924
"We Hunted Lions without Guns" by H. Carter - 1960 Jan 9
Western Bird Banding Association - News from the Bird Banders - 1928 Jul and Oct, 1929 Jan
"Where the Red Gods make their Medicine Again" - 1926 Nov 20
"Why Grouse are Scarce" by J.B. Burnham
Wildlife Progress: Restoration Developments in North America - American Wildlife Institute - 1936 Dec
Wildlife Review - 1936 Nov
The Wilson Ornithological Club - Bulletins and ephemera
1. "The Gannet"
2. "The Cormorant"
3. "The Herring Gull"
4. "The Black-backed Gull"
5. "The Dovekie"
6. "The Eider Duck"
7. "The Laughing Gull"
8. "Leach's Petrel"
9. "The Atlantic Puffin"
10. "Terns"
11. "The Black Guillemot"
12. "The Spotted Sandpiper"
13. "The Osprey"
14. "Canada Geese"
15. "The Snowy Owl"
16. "The Semi-Palmated Plover"
17. "The Black Duck"
18. "The Razor-billed Auk"
19, "The Golden-eye Duck"
20. "The Scaup Ducks"
21. "Black-crowned Night Heron"
22. "The Bald Eagle"
23. "The Belted Kingfisher"
24. "The Goeduck of the Washington Coast"
25. "Red-breasted Marganser"
26. "The Old-Squaw"
27. "Cormorant and Gull Control" (missing)
28. "The White-winged Scoter"
29. "The American Pintail"
30. "The Ivory Gull" and misc. information
31. "The Bufflehead"
32. Book Review: "Wandering Albatross"
33. "The Blue-winged Teal"
34. "The Great Blue Heron"
35. "The Glossy Ibis"
36. "The Piping Plover"
37. "The Ring-necked Duck"
38. "The Wood Duck"
39. "The Mallard"
40. "The American Brant"
41. "The Harlequin Duck"
42. "The White-winged Gulls"
43. "The Ring-billed Gull"
44. "Yellow-legs"
45. "Black-bellied and Golden Plovers"
46. "The Common Crow and the Fish Crow"
47. "White Herons"
48. "Peeps: The Least, Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers"
49. "The Cattle Egret"
50. "The Ruddy Duck"
51. "The Green-winged Teal"
52. "The Horned Grebe"
53. "The American Woodcock"
54. "The Ruffed Grouse"
55. "The Purple Sandpiper"
56. "The Atlantic Fulmar"
57. "Snow Grouse"
58. "The Baldpate"
59. "The Horned Owl"
60. "Duck Hawk of Peregrine Falcon"
61. "The Common Loon"
62. "Great Shearwater or Hagdown"
63. "The Nighthawk"
64. "The Killdeer"
65. "The Barred Owl"
66. "The Surf Scoter"
67. "The Jaegers"
68. "Phalaropes
70. "The Starling"
71. "The English Sparrow"
69. "The White Stork" and a clipping
70. "The Starling" and 3 photos with captions
71. "The English Sparrow" and 1 photo
This series contains personal journals and field notebooks extending over most of Alfred Gross' life. Some of the items are specifically for recording scientific information. Others, such as his journals kept during his two around the world trips (1955-56 and 1957-58) record both his vacations with his wife and scientific information. many of the journals have handwritten indices, photograph guides, and page numbers. Several journals have letters, photographs, and articles pasted to their pages. While working on the Gull/Cormorant Control Project daily records were kept of project activities. The records from 1944-1951 are included in this series. Also in this series is a subject guide to certain species and locations of interest on note cards. These cards detail bird sightings and in many instances there is a reference to one of Gross' yearly journals and page number.
Arranged chronologically.
No restrictions.
1. 1900 Zoology Note Book, Atwood High School
1. 1900 High School Commencement Oration
1. 1908 Thesis for A.B. at U. of Illinois
1. 1909 Botany Notebook, Harvard
2. 1902-1903 Spring Migration of Birds at Urbana, IL
3. 1906 Illinois Statistical Ornith. Survey
4. 1907 Illinois Statistical Ornith Survey continued
4. 1907-1909 Winter/Summer Bird Studies
5. 1909 Trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts / 1909-1910 Harvard
6. 1910, 1911 Bermuda
[7.]1921 Nighthawk Study
8B.1924 Ruffed Grouse
9. 1932 Kent Is., Eider Duck, Herring Gull
10. 1918-1921 Junior Audubon Society
1918-1946 Milk Inspection Reports, Department of Health and Sanitation, Town of Brunswick
11. 1934 Bowdoin MacMillan Arctic Expedition
12. 1937 Bowdoin MacMillan Arctic Expedition
13A-B. 1938 Kent Is./1938 Trip to West Coast
14. 1939 Trip to Mexico
15. 1941-1942 Gull Control
16. 1943 Gull Control
17. 1944-46 Gull Control/1944, 1946 Kent Island
18. 1944 Gull Control
19. 1944 Herring Gull Control
20. 1945 Cormorant-Herring Gull Control
21B. 1946 Cormorant-Herring Gull Control
22. 1947 Herring Gull [Cormorant] Control
23. 1948 Cormorant Gull Control
24. 1949 Cormorant Gull Control
25. 1950 Cormorant Gull Control
26. 1951 Cormorant Gull Control
27. 1934-1953 Herring Gull [Cormorant] Control
[27] [1934-1953] Gull Control
28A-B. 1947-48 Sabbatical/ 1947 Gull Control
29A[B]. 1948 Sabbatical continued
30. 1949 Barro Colorado Islands
31. 1950 Inter. Ornith. Congress, Upsalla, Europe
32. 1951 Alaska
33A-B. 1953-54 Middle East and Europe
34, 35. 1955 Africa-Europe/ 1955-56 World Trip
36, 37. 1955-56 Central America/ 1957-58 World Trip
38A-B, 39. 1959 Africa/ 1959-60 California and Hawaii
40A-B. 1960-61 Australia, South Pacific
41, 42.1961-62 Florida/ 1966 Florida
Miscellaneous Untitled 1919-1926
Species and Habitat note cards - Subject index to journals and notebooks
This series contains notes taken by Alfred Gross, his Bowdoin College students, and other scientists. There are working drafts of Gross' publications, often with multiple drafts of the same publication at different stages in the writing process. These drafts are both handwritten and typed and include corrections and editorial remarks. There are some early drafts of work by other scientists as well as research performed by Gross' students. The Heath Hen, Ruffed Grouse, Snowy Owl, and Goshawk represent major topics in Gross' work and there are large portions in this series devoted to them (Owls and hawks are treated as one topic). The different animals are discussed in correspondence folders spanning several years each. Notes and drafts of reports and publications can also be found. Because of the collaborative effort involved in much of this research there are often letters and reports not authored by or directed to Gross. There are also data sheets and questionaries discussing the Ruffed Grouse and "owls and hawks" in detail. The time periods in which Gross researched these birds overlap and many of the items address more than one species.
"Albinism and Melanism among North American Birds"
"Albinism, Melanism, Erythrism, and Xanthochroism in the Plumages and Albinism and Erythrism in the eggs of North American Birds"
"Albinism of the Herring Gull and records of other species of the Family Laridae"
"Albinistic and Erythristic Eggs"
Audubon bird watching Check Lists - Florida and Maine
Bent's Life History of Birds
Biography of Commander D.B. MacMillan - 1947
Biology XII - Notes from field trips by O.S. Pettingill
"Birds Collected and Observed during the Bowdoin-MacMillan Arctic Expedition of 1934"
Bird count charts, 1934-1955
"Birds Observed at Sea"
"Birds Observed at Sea during a Voyage to and from Africa" - 1959
"Birds of Grenfelland" - 1933
Birds of Grenfelland - Correspondence
"Birds of Monte Verdi Banana Plantation"
Birds of Monte Verdi Banana Plantation - Correspondence
Birds of Monte Verdi Banana Plantation - Notes and Pamphlet on bananas
The Birds of the World - Review
Bird traps and other supplies
Bird trap schematic
"The Black-crowned Night Heron of Sandy Neck"
Black-crowned Night Heron - Notes and correspondence
"Bowdoin-MacMillan Arctic Expedition" - 1935
Bowdoin-MacMillan Arctic Expedition - Correspondence
Bowdoin-MacMillan Arctic Expedition - Acidic originals
"The Economic Values of some common Illinois Birds" by A.O. Gross and S.A. Forbes - 1909
"The Eider Ducks of Kent Island" - 1938
Fiji Toads (Bufo marinus)
"The Flamingos of Lake Nakru" - 1959
"Glimpses of the home life of the Birds of Saint Mary's"
Grassquits
Hawaiian Birds: "A Visitors Glimpse of some birds of Oahu, Hawaii"
Hawaiian Birds: "Some General Impressions of Hawaiian Bird Life"
Hawaiian Birds: "Birds of Oahu: A Visitor's Glimpse"
Herring Gulls and Cormorants
"History and Progress of Bird Photography"
History and Progress of Bird Photography - Correspondence
History and Progress of Bird Photography - Bibliographies and Photograph guides
"Incidence of Albinism in North American Birds"
Journal citations
Maine Audubon Society Bird Book 1959-60
Maps, New York and Wisconsin, 1909 and n.d.
"Massena Trogon"
Material related to Albinism, Melanism, etc.
"Mauritius and the DoDo" (typescript) by Alfred O. Gross, n.d.
Miscellaneous
1. The Nighthawk - Notes and articles
2. The Nighthawk - Notes and articles
3. The Nighthawk - Notes
4. The Nighthawk - Student Reports
5. The Nighthawk - Drafts, notes, clippings
6. The Nighthawk - Measurement of the Young
"North of Battle Harbour"
North of Battle Harbour - Photograph notes
North of Battle Harbour - Photograph notes - Acidic originals
North of Battle Harbour - Correspondence
North of Battle Harbour - Correspondence - Acidic origianls
Notes on Birds of Bermuda
"Ornithological Data of the MacMillan Arctic Expedition '37" by J.R. Forbes
Ornithological Data of the MacMillan Arctic Expedition '37 - Acidic originals
Owls: "Snappy" and "Snowy Owl"
Passifores Ploceidae
Photograph guide - Biological Survey
"The Purple Gallinule of Barro Colorado Island" by A.O. Gross and J. VanTyne
The Purple Gallinule of Barro Colorado Island - Notes
The Purple Gallinule of Baroo Colorado Island - Acidic originals
"The Reactions of Arthropods to Monochromatic Lights of Equal Intensities" - Harvard Ph.D. Thesis
Student notebook
"The Toucan"
"Two Interesting Bird Banding Recoveries" - 1935
Two Interesting Bird Banding Recorveries - Correspondence
Vaux Swift
Two Interesting Bird Banding Recoveries - Correspondence - Acidic originals
"A Visit to Great Duck Island" - 1922
"Wendell Taber" Obit.
Bills and Receipts
Constitution of Martha's Vineyard Association for the Restoration of Wild Life and Game
Heath Hen Census - 1925
Heath Hen Census - 1927
Heath Hen Census - 1929
Heath Hen Census - 1930
Heath Hen Report - 1931-1932
Heath Hen Report - 1932-1933
Heath Hen Situation - Preliminary Report - 1927 Apr 1
"Is the Heath Hen Extinct?"
"The Last Heath Hen"
Mailing Lists - 1930, 1931, n.d.
Martha's Vineyard Reservation: Daily Reports by A. Keniston - 1928 May 21-Jul 15, 1928 Nov 27-Mar 3
Miscellaneous
Notebooks - Skins and Measurements
Sighting sheets - 1907 Dec 23-28, 1914 Apr-May, 1915 Mar-Apr
"The Vanishing Heath Hen"
Correspondence, 1928 and 1929 Census
Correspondence, articles - 1927-1933
Correspondence, Adams, William C. - 1924-1931 - Massachusetts Division of Fisheris and Game Director
Correspondence, Federation of the Bird Clubs of New England - 1922-1927, n.d.
Correspondence, Forbush, Edward H. -1923-1927 - Massachusetts Division of Ornithology Director
Correspondence, Kenney, R.J. - 1931-1933 - Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Game Director
Correspondence, 1923-1934
Correspondence, Undated
Correspondence, Acidic originals
Canadian Owl Report
"Index to Snowy Owl Records"
Lynx and Rabbit Population Cycles
Monthly Occurrence Data
Notes on Snowy Owls
Notes on Snowy Owls - Acidic originals
Questionnaires - Massachusetts - 1926
Sighting cards
"Snowy Owl Migration"
Specimen Collection Lists
Specimen Collection Lists - Acidic originals
U.S. Records of Abundance
U.S. Records of Abundance - Acidic originals
1926-1933
Undated
Acidic originals
"The Cattle Egret in Africa"
"Companions at a Jungle Laboratory"
"Coastal Birds of Maine" - 1935
Coastal Birds of Maine - Acidic originals
Dr. Chapman's Oropendola paper - Review
Accounting notebook - 1929-31
Cancelled Checks
Check Book and Bank Statements
Data: Blank Death Data Sheets
Data: Death Data
Data: Distribution
Data: Distribution - Acidic originals
Data: Physical attributes
Data: Wisconsin Grouse Investigation
Disease Tularemia
Draft Reports: 1925 Dec 7-8 - Ruffed Grouse Investigation Report
Draft Reports: 1926 Dec 29 - Paragraph on the Ruffed Grouse Investigation for the Annual Report of the Division of Fisheries and Game
Draft Reports: 1926 - Progress Report of the New England Ruffed Grouse Investigation Committee
Draft Reports: 1925-1926 - The Ruffed Grouse Investigation: Season of 1925-1926 by A.O. Gross and A.A. Allen
Draft Reports: 1926 Jan 28 - Ruffed Grouse Investigation - Maine Sportsmen's Fish and Game Association Meeting
Draft Reports: 1927 Autumn - Ruffed Grouse Report - Canada
Draft Reports: 1928 Progress Report - Preliminary Draft
Draft Reports: 1928 Progress Report - Acidic originals
Draft Reports: 1929 Jan 9 - Brief Report of the New England Ruffed Grouse Investigation - New England Sportsmen's Meeting
Draft Reports: 1930 Sep - Annual Report of the New England Ruffed Grouse Investigation
Draft Reports: 1930 - The Work of the New England Ruffed Grouse and Wisconsin Prairie Chicken Investigations
Draft Reports: 1931 Jan 24 - Report on the New England Ruffed Grouse and Wisconsin Prairie Chicken Investigations
Draft Reports: 1932 - New England Ruffed Grouse Investigation
Draft Reports: "Diseases of the Ruffed Grouse"
Draft Reports: "Grouse Report"
Draft Reports: "The New England Ruffed Grouse Situation"
Draft Reports: Outlines and Draft sheets of Ruffed Grouse Reports
Draft Reports: "A Progress Report on the Ruffed Grouse of New York"
Draft Reports: "A Recommended Wisconsin Five Year Game Program" - The Wisconsin Conservation Commission
Draft Reports: Reports and Releases about Grouse, Quail, Fowl, etc.
Draft Reports: "Report on Parasites and Disease in the Ruffed Grouse" by E.E. Tyzzer
Draft Reports: "Ruffed Grouse Investigation"
Draft Reports: Special List for Grouse Report
Expense accounts
Expenses and Money Received - notebooks
Food: Captive Specimen
Food: Data
Food: Data
Food: Data - Acidic originals
Food: Data by type and State
Food: Data by type and State - Acidic originals
Food: Typed tables #1-7
"The Food Habits of the Ruffed Grouse" by L.A. Southard
The Food of the Ruffed Grouse - Notebook
Hunting Regulations and Game Protectors List
List of Sportsmens names and addresses
Map of Canada
Map of New York
Maps of Wisconsin
Minutes of the Meeting of Grouse Committee - 1929 Dec 3
Miscellaneous
Name Tag - New England Game Conference - 1933
Nest and Egg: Data
Nest and Egg: Notebook - New York Records
Nest and Egg: Notebook and Notes - early 1920's
Nest and Egg: "Nest and Eggs of the Ruffed Grouse"
Nest and Egg: "Report of Grouse experiment from Eggs taken from Wild Nests" - 1931
Notes: Assistant - notebooks and Summaries by P.A. LaFrance
Notes: Behavior notebook
Notes: Broods notebook
Notes: Forest Change
Notes: Names and Addresses in a bound journal
Notes: New England Game Conference - 1934 Jan 13
Notes: New York notebook - 1924 Jun-Sep
Notes: Report notebooks
Notes: Sighting Cards
Notes: Sightings - 1924 Apr-Nov - Maine
Notes or Draft Report - Handwritten
Notes or Draft Report - Acidic originals
Pamphlets - New England Sportsman's Show - 1927
Parasite and Disease Data / Parasite Report - 1929
Parasite, Weight, and Distribution Notebook
Permits
Permits - Acidic originals
Receipts
Student Reports
Questionnaires - Blank forms and Samples
Questionnaires - Canada - 1927-28, 1928-29
Questionnaires - Canada - 1930-31, 1931-32
Questionnaires - Connecticut - 1927-1932
Questionnaires - Correspondence - 1927-1928
Questionnaires - Correspondence - 1930-1931
Questionnaires - Maine - 1927-1929
Questionnaires - Maine - 1930-1932
Questionnaires - Massachusetts - 1926 - # 1-150
Questionnaires - Massachusetts - 1927-1929
Questionnaires - Massachusetts - 1930-1933
Questionnaires - Massachusetts - Undated
Questionnaires - New Hampshire - 1927-1929
Questionnaires - New Hampshire - 1930-1932
Questionnaires - New York - 1927-28, 1930-31
Questionnaires - Rhode Island - 1927-1929
Questionnaires - Rhode Island - 1930-1932
Questionnaires - Vermont - 1927-1929
Questionnaires - Vermont - 1930-1932
Questionnaires - Wisconsin - 1928
Questionnaires - Wisconsin - 1930-31, 1931-32
Rules of the State Comptroller Regarding Traveling Expense Vouchers
Specimen Collection Announcements
Specimen Collection - Number of Birds Received
Specimen Lists - Sightings and Collection
Specimen Lists - Acidic originals
Specimen Shipping Lists
Treasurer's Statement - Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Association
Correspondence, 1924 - 1937
Correspondence, 18th American Game Conference - 1931
Correspondence, Adams, Charles C. - Roosevelt Wild Life Forest Experiment Station
Correspondence, Adams, William C. - 1920-1929 - Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Game Director
Correspondence, Adams, William C. - Bird Seed
Correspondence, Adams, William C. - Grouse Letters - Massachusetts
Correspondence, Allen, Arther A. - Cornell University
Correspondence, American Game Protective and Propagation Association - Avery, C. Vice-President, Burnham, J.B. President
Correspondence, Burgess, Thornton
Correspondence, Burgess, Thornton - Grouse Letters - # 1-87
Correspondence, Clark, Arthur L. - Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Association Secretary
Correspondence, Game Conservation Institute - Huntington, D.W.
Correspondence, Garris, Carl A. - Taxidermist
Correspondence, Great Northern Paper Company
Correspondence, Hunting and Fishing Show - 1934
Correspondence, Katahdin Trip
Correspondence, Knapp, W.A.
Correspondence, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game
Correspondence, Massachusetts Fish and Game Association - Aylward, D.A., Brooks, E.
Correspondence, New Hampshire Department of Fisheries and Game
Correspondence, Orchards
Correspondence, Phillips, John C. - 1924-1934, n.d. - Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Association President
Correspondence, Prairie Chicken
Correspondence, Roosevelt Wild Life Forest Experiment Station - Johnson, C.E
Correspondence, Titcomb, John W., Connecticut State Board of Fisheries and Game Superintendent
Correspondence, Tyzzer, Ernest E. - Harvard University
Correspondence, VanTyne, J. - Michigan
Correspondence, Whitney, Alvin G. - Roosevelt Wild Life Forest Experiment Station
Correspondence, Wisconsin - Grimmer, W.F., Kelleter, P., Kipp, D.H.
Correspondence, Undated
Correspondence, Acidic originals - 1923-1935
Correspondence, Specimen # x1 - x706
Correspondence, Specimen # 86 - 250
Correspondence, Specimen # 256 - 599
Correspondence, Specimen # 611 - 994
Correspondence, Specimen # 1004 - 1294
Correspondence, Specimen # 1300 - 1399
Correspondence, Specimen # 1400 - 1490
Correspondence, Specimen # 1534 - 1602
Correspondence, Specimen - Acidic originals
Correspondence, Sportsmen's Returned Letters
This series contains multiple copies of the autobiography that Alfred Gross wrote in 1966. There are published and unpublished remarks about Gross written for the presentation of his honorary degree from Bowdoin College, for reports to the Harvard Travellers (sic) club, and as introduction before a speech. A couple of completed faculty questioners solicited from Gross by Bowdoin are included (1948 and 1956). News clipping sand releases about Gross are also present as are clippings about birds that Gross collected. There is personal paperwork relating to property ownership in Brunswick, Maine, Gross' enrollment at Harvard, and various other bills and receipts. A scrapbook of Brunswick Audubon Society clipping is in the series as well. There are also materials related to Gross' teaching at Bowdoin: lecture notes, assignments, exam questions, and schedules.
Arranged alphabetically.
No restrictions.
"Alfred Otto Gross: Autobiography" 1966
"Alfred Otto Gross: Autobiography" revised 1991 Jul
Autobiography - Separate pages
Bowdoin College News Service Releases
Bowdoin College Stationary
Bowdoin College Teaching Materials: Library Suggestions, Exam Schedule, Student Survey
Bowdoin College Teaching Materials: Lecture Notes for Zoology 3, 10 and 12
Bowdoin College Teaching Materials: New England Bird Banding Association Prepared Lectures
1885-1968 Scrapbook from the career of A.O. Gross
Clippings: Birds
Clippings Concerning A.O. Gross and Family
Certificates
Diplomas
Faculty Biographical Information - Questionnaire - 1956 Jun 10
Genealogical Material
General Catalogue of Bowdoin - Questionnaires - 1948-49
Government Application
Guggenheim Fellowship Correspondence and Ephemera
Harvard Travellers [sic] Club - 1968 Year Book
Harvard University Paperwork
Honoris Causa - Bowdoin College - President K. Sills
Huntington, C.E. - Introductory remarks
Lists of Publications
Memorial Services Tributes / Invitations to 50th Wedding Anniversary
Professional Bills and Receipts
Property Ownership Paperwork / Personal Bills and Receipts
Scrapbook of Brunswick Audubon Society
Alfred Gross was a scientific photographer as well as researcher. He visually documented most of his research and presented slides regularly during lectures. The photograph subjects in this series include the Ruffed Grouse, Heath Hen, trips to Panama and the Arctic.; also includes photographs taken by and of Thornton Burgess. This series includes aluminum and glass slides (3 1/4 x 4 inches), prints mounted on card stock, loose prints of various sizes, and glass negatives (4 x 5 and 5 x 7). There is also a photograph index on note cards.
Arranged by index number and type.
No restrictions.
Metal box - Aluminum slides
Wooden box - Glass slides
File number index
Subject index
Photos mounted on cards - Index numbers included
A.O. Gross Order (2-4) - Prints - Index numbers included
Loose prints - 3x4 - Index numbers included
Loose prints - Index numbers included
Loose prints
Glass slides
Printing blocks
Nitrate negatives - 4x5
Nitrate negatives - 5x7 - Index numbers included
Glass negatives - 5x7 - Index numbers included
Glass negatives - 4x5 - Index numbers included
Loose prints
Includes 16mm and 35 mm silent film, mostly black and white (color occasionally spliced in). Reels of film include footage of the (now extinct) Heath Hen on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, circa 1932; Bowdoin College's Scientific Station (Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada), 1936-; and expeditions to the Labrador region of Canada to study birdlife, including a 1931 research trip by Alfred Gross, his son William Gross, and Thornton Burgess to study bird colonies in the coastal regions of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Newfoundland, and southern Labrador ("The Birds of Grenfelland"), and film of the 1934 MacMillan Arctic expedition where Gross was the expedition ornithologist. The films show Gross, his colleagues, and students observing and recording birdlife, and also document aspects of expedition life. Some of the films are documented with intertitles and were used by Gross during his illustrated lectures.
Three 16 mm film reels of the Bowdoin College Scientific Station on Kent Island (New Brunswick, Canada) and five 35 mm film reels: "The Heath Hen" (1 reel) and Birds of Grenfelland" (4 reels) have been digitized and are available online.
Original 35 mm film reels of the "Heath Hen" and "Birds of Grenfelland" preserved, digitized and duplicated to create the following surrogates: 35 mm polyester negatives and silent answer prints, HD digital files, and DVDs. Work funded by the National Film Preservation Foundation and completed by Colorlab, Rockville, MD.
Preservation, digitization, and duplication of five 35 mm film reels: "The Heath Hen" (1 reel) and "Birds of Grenfelland" (4 reels) generously funded by the National Film Preservation Foundation, 2017.
Three reels of silent 16mm film from ca. 1936, documenting life and work during the early years of Bowdoin's Scientific Station on Kent Island (New Brunswick, Canada). Most of the footage is black and white with some color spliced in. Scenes include Scientific Station personnel, landscapes, buildings, and birds; expedition vehicles leaving Bowdoin College and at the dock in Lubec, Maine loading equipment and supplies onto a boat the "Scientist"; the "Scientist" at sea towing a row boat and passing a fenced retaining area for boats, and unloading at Kent Island. Alfred O. Gross, William Gross, Ernest Joy, Thornton Burgess, and others are shown (reel 2). Also includes maps of Kent Island, scenes of the island and its buildings, the weather station, the research group (including students), nesting birds and chicks, early birdsong recordist Albert Brand (Cornell University) who came to Kent Island to record Leach's Petrels, student playing "Songs of Wildbirds" (by Brand) on a record player, student pressing plants, and wildflowers on the island (reel 3).
Reel 1: Bowdoin College Scientific Station, 1936 (16 mm)
Reel 2: Bowdoin College Scientific Station (16 mm)
Reel 3: Bowdoin College Scientific Station (16 mm)
Bowdoin College Scientific Station, DVD of reels 1-3 (transfer from 16 mm film)
Documentation in the Alfred Gross papers indicates that "The Birds of Grenfelland" originally comprised five reels of film. Only four reels were identified and digitized.
Birds of Grenfelland (circa 1931) comprises four reels of 35 mm, silent, black and white, film (total 30:41minutes) recorded during a 1931 research trip by Alfred Gross, his son William Gross, and Thornton Burgess to study bird colonies in the coastal regions of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Newfoundland, and southern Labrador. Among the locations Gross filmed was the Isle Sainte-Marie Migratory Bird Sanctuary, which was established by the Canadian government in 1925. The expedition footage also includes scenes of the Inuit in coastal communities, glimpses of Sir Wilfred Grenfell on board his medical missionary ship, the Strathcona II, and salmon fishing on the Matamek River in Quebec. The films are documented with intertitles and were used by Alfred Gross for illustrated lectures.
Birds of Grenfelland, circa 1931 (35 mm, 4 reels)
DVD access copy
The Heath Hen film (circa 1932) comprises one reel of silent black and white 35mm film (14:03 minutes) recorded on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts in 1928 and 1931 showing the last surviving Heath Hens in their natural habitat. Gross filmed three male birds in 1928, but by 1929 only one male, named "Booming Ben" by the local press, remained. In 1931, Alfred Gross, accompanied by the well-known naturalist and children's author Thornton Burgess, came to Martha's Vineyard to make a complete record of the last Heath Hen. They trapped, banded, photographed, filmed, and then released the bird; the film documents all of these activities and explains them with intertitles.
The Heath Hen, circa 1932 (35 mm, 1 reel)
DVD access copy
North of Battle Harbour, Film Narrative of the Bowdoin-MacMillan Expedition of 1934, comprises three reels of 35 mm, silent, black and white, film documenting the expedition on the schooner Bowdoin, led by Commander Donald B. MacMillan to the northernmost point of Labrador and the remote Button Isles. Gross was the expedition ornithologist; other members of the research team included seven Bowdoin students and a botanist from Clark University and several of his students.