The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted

Charles E. Beveridge, Series Editor
Carolyn F. Hoffman, Editor
Published by Johns Hopkins University Press

Volume 1: The Formative Years, 1822-1852 (Published 1977)
The volume begins with a short biography of Olmsted, followed by autobiographical fragments.

Volume 2: Slavery and the South, 1852-1857 (Published 1981)
This volume chronicles his antislavery activism during the 1850s and contains all the significant personal letters and newspaper accounts that he did not include in his four books on the South.

Volume 3: Creating Central Park, 1857-1861 (Published 1983)
This volume contains the most significant documents concerning the design and construction of Central Park, including the complete original "Greensward" report and plan.

Volume 4: Defending the Union: The Civil War and the U.S. Sanitary Commission, 1861-1863 (Published 1986)
Covers Olmsted's tenure as general secretary of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, precursor to the Red Cross, as well as his role in helping to define the purposes of Reconstruction, and his leading role in the creation of the political journal the Nation.

Volume 5: The California Frontier, 1863-1865 (Published 1990)
Covers Olmsted's time as general manager of the Mariposa Estate, running the largest gold-mining operation in the country, as well as containing the four reports that Olmsted wrote for major design projects in California.

Volume 6: The Years of Olmsted, Vaux & Company, 1865-1874 (Published 1992)
This volume contains letters and reports on parks, park systems, and city planning written during the partnership of Olmsted & Vaux.

Volume 7: Parks, Patronage, and Politics, 1874-1882 (at press)
This volume describes Olmsted's work while living in New York following his partnership with Vaux, his dismissal from the New York City parks department in 1878, and his move to Boston in the early 1880s.

Volume 8: The Early Boston Years, 1882-1889 (forthcoming)
This volume follows Olmsted's career as he established his hoem and office in Brookline, Massachusetts, and formed a partnership with his stepson and protege John C. Olmsted.

Volume 9: The Final Years of Practice, 1890-1895 (forthcoming)
Included will be design reports on South and Cazenovia parks in Buffalo, Cadwalader Park in Trenton, and Downing Memorial Park in Newburgh. There will also be reports and correspondence for the later elements of the Boston park system: Franklin Park, Charlesbank, Marine Park, and Wood Island Park, and proposals for treatment of the Boston harbor islands. Other documents will chronicle the development of the park systems of Rochester, NY, and Louisville, KY. Another major subject is the planning of the World's Columbian Expositionof 1893 and the subsequent redesigning of Jackson Park in Chicago. The volume will also contain selections from Olmsted's extensive and fascinating correspondence concerning his last great commission, Biltmore estate in North Carolina.

Volume 10: (Untitled, forthcoming)
This volume will include undated manuscripts and fragments on general design--a legacy of thought and theorizing that wilbe published here for the first time. It will also include an annotated listing of Olmsted's more than 300 published writings, and a cumulative index of the entire Olmstted Papers series.

Supplementary series

Volume 1: Writings on Public Parks, Parkways, and Park Systems (Published 1997)
This volume consists of 22 illustrated reports, articles and lectures that contain Olmsted's major statemetns on the design of public recreational space. It also includes major statements on city and regional planning.

Volume 2: (Untitled, forthcoming)
An oversize volume with plans and historical photographs of the 100 parks and public recreation grounds designed by Olmsted. The editors intend to include a CD-ROM containing digitized versions of certain plans published in the volume, plus detailed plantingin plans.

Volume 3: (Untitled, forthcoming)
An oversize volume containing plans and historical photographs of 100 of the projects carried out by Olmsted in areas other than public recreation. Receiving special attention will be the U.S. Capitol Grounds and West Front terrace, the National Zoo in Washington, several estates planned in collaboration with H. H. Richardson and the architectural firm Peabody & Stearns, the campuses of Stanford University and Lawrenceville School, and the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. The editors intend to accompany this volume with a CD-ROM of the plans published in the volume and other plans and sketches.