General papers, 1888-1937

This collection of correspondence, manuscripts, scrapbooks, and printed matter, created between 1888 and 1937, deals primarily with William T. Hornaday's role as a conservationist. Documented in detail are his activities as administrator of the Permanent Wildlife Protection Fund, which he founded in 1913-1914 and directed until his death. Conservation issues discussed in these papers include the passage of the Bayne Law in New York State, the status of the fur seal herds, wildlife censuses, excessive hunting, the importation of wild bird plumage for millinery purposes, and the protection of migratory game and wildlife through bag limits, closed seasons, and sanctuaries.

Other subjects include the planting of shade trees for the streets of Buffalo, New York, 1893-1895; notes on mountain sheep, 1901; and a survey of zoology in schools, 1905-1910. Also present is correspondence concerning real estate in Buffalo and publication of Hornaday's Taxidermy and zoological collecting (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1911). A short series of miscellaneous writings includes a portion of a photocopy of Hornaday's unpublished autobiography, Eighty fascinating years.