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Correspondence, pamphlets, photographic prints and clippings document Charles Deering's interest in plant introduction, research and cultivation at his two Dade County estates. Included are letters and notes from John Kunkel Small, noted botanist and authority on the flora of the southeastern states; material on the building of the Cutler dwelling, with letters from its architect, Phineas Paist; and a folder of pamphlets issued by National Audubon Society, chiefly dated 1912-1916.

Scrapbooks of the Buena Vista estate and Japanese life and customs, 1900-circa 1909. Folder of preconstruction sketches for the Deering estate on Biscayne Bay north of Miami, and a turn-of-the-century photograph album on Japan. Buena Vista materials include two floor plans headed: Preliminary studies of house for Mr. Charles Deering, Miami, Fla. ; a photographic print of a building model; and eight watercolor sketches of different rooms, elevations, etc., signed by the architect Clinton MacKenzie of New York City. The Japanese album consists of a series of hand colored phographic prints showing traditional Japanese artisans, farmers and street scenes. They are numbered in Japanese and appear to have been commercially produced.

Three bound volumes of captioned photographs record the 1916 exploration of South Florida by taxonomist and botanical explorer, John Kunkel Small,1869-1938, Curator of Museums at the New York Botanical Garden. The expedition and documentation of the project was underwritten by Charles Deering, Chicago industrialist and part time resident of Cutler (Fla.).

Small recorded what remained of the original landscape primarily near Miami and the Florida Keys as he foresaw significant changes coming to the area from drainage programs, railroad construction, and land development for agriculture and settlement. Views include the Everglades, Florida Keys, hardwood hammocks, lime-sinks and pinelands, drainage canals, early road construction south of Duval County to Fort Myers, the Deering estate and the USDA’s plant introduction garden in Miami. Volumes 2 and 3 include Miami aerial views by Richard B. Hoit and postcards of Miami and environs.

The expedition concentrated primarily on Miami and environs, and the Florida Keys. Including the Royal Palm Hammock, Addison Hammock, Sykes Hammock, Snapper Creek Hammock, Hattie Bauer, Costello Hammock, Sands Key, Long Key and Key Largo among others.