Guide to the Jonathan Keith Esser Collection, 1899 - 1920


Collection Information



Abstract:
The Jonathan Keith Esser Collection contains letters written by and photographs taken or collected by Jonathan Keith Esser (1893 - 1963), a Pennsylvania forester and coal industry worker who graduated from the Biltmore Forest School in 1911. The materials date from 1899 to 1920 (bulk 1910 - 1911) and primarily document Esser's training while a forestry student under the tutelage of Biltmore Forest School director Carl Alwin Schenck (1868 - 1955). Esser's correspondence consists of five letters he wrote to his family while on Biltmore Forest School field trips to various forested regions of the United States and Europe in 1910 and 1911. Photographs in the collection document the training Esser received while on said field trips; his work while a member of a U.S. Forest Service reconnaissance team that surveyed forest conditions in the southern Appalachian Mountains region of the United States during 1912; and his experiences while serving in the U.S. Army during the World War I era.
Contact Information:
Forest History Society
Library and Archives
701 William Vickers Avenue
Durham, North Carolina
27701-3162 USA
Phone: (919) 682-9319
Fax: (919) 682-2349
Email: coakes@duke.edu
URL: http://www.foresthistory.org
Processed by
David G. Havlick
Date Completed
May, 2002
Encoded by
Michele A. Justice

Descriptive Summary

Creator
Esser, Jonathan Keith, 1893 - 1963.
Title
The Jonathan Keith Esser Collection, 1899 - 1920
Extent
4 photograph albums, 1 envelope of photographs, and 1 file folder of correspondence;
ca. 6.5 linear feet
Location
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Forest History Society Archivist/Librarian Cheryl Oakes.

Information for Users

Restrictions to Access
This collection is open for research.
Provenance
Unknown
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], Jonathan Keith Esser Collection, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, North Carolina.
Copyright Notice
The Forest History Society owns copyright to this collection. Individuals obtaining materials from the Forest History Society Library and Archives are responsible for using the works in conformance with United States copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.
Processing Information
The correspondence series includes hyperlinks to digital representations of individual letters. Electronic transcriptions of the text were produced in Microsoft Word 2000. Embedded within the Word files at the end of each transcription are 150 dpi True Color scans of each page of correspondence. Adobe Acrobat .pdf files were produced as the final output. The hyperlink "See Transcription" tags below link to the .pdf files. In the photograph series, thumbnail images were scanned at 75 dpi with a maximum pixel size limitation of 300 pixels imposed, and digital surrogate images were scanned at 150 dpi with a maximum pixel size limitation of 700 pixels imposed. Supplemental descriptive data appearing with the digital surrogates was drawn from the Forest History Society's Image Database, which contains catalog records for images in the Society's collections. Information presented in [square brackets] indicates that the cataloger supplied the data.

Biographical Note

Born in 1893 in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania (renamed Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, in 1954), J. Keith Esser was the son of Isabelle (Simpson) and George W. Esser, a postmaster and prominent figure in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, politics. Esser's family had strong ties to the local coal business, which eventually would lure Keith back to the region. Keith's older sister, Mary, married Truman "Trot" Dodson II, who owned a nearby coal mine, and for a time Keith's father also owned a coke (coal) business in Wise County, Virginia.

Unlike most of his peers at the Biltmore School who were oriented toward careers in the private sector of the timber industry, Keith was interested in working for the U.S. Forest Service. After completing his year with the Biltmore Forest School in 1911, Keith Esser continued to pursue his interests in forestry for several more years and appears to have met with success in his career ambitions. In the Fall 1911 edition of the Biltmore School's Biltmore Doings alumni notes, the following entry appears, "... and J.K. Esser who have finished their course, have begun their 'apprenticeship' with the Smith-Powers Logging Company of Marshfield [Oregon]. Mr. Esser will enter the Forest Service on the Umpqua Reserve later on." Subsequent editions of the Biltmore alumni newsletter trace several more moves by Esser. The January 1912 issue reports, "J.K. Esser (Biltmore 1911) is working for the Chestnut Blight Commission at Johnstown, Pa.," and the June 1912 issue includes the notation, "The Degree of Bachelor of Forestry was given, upon completion of the statutory conditions, to ... J.K. Esser, employed by the U.S. Forest Service." One of Esser's photo albums also documents this time, as a handwritten caption in the front of the album states, "Note - Photos taken in 1912 on forest reconnaissance work of U.S. Forest Service on lands to be included in the S. Appalachian forest reserves."

After 1912, the path of Keith Esser's life grows less clear. A number of loose photos in this collection depict scenes of World War I-era camps and military maneuvers, but there is no clear sign that Esser saw action overseas. He may have been part of the 20th Engineer Regiment (Forestry) that set up logging operations and sawmills in France to supply the war effort, but this regiment was the largest in the U.S. Army with more than 20,000 men in thirteen battalions, and the collection includes no reference to confirm Esser's role. One photo shows the crippled ship Herbert L. Pratt, which was mined by a German submarine on 3 June 1918 a few miles off the Delaware coast, but whether Esser actually took the photo or made it any farther east than this during the war remains uncertain.

Back in Pennsylvania, J. Keith Esser married Grace Brinton, a native of Milton, Pennsylvania, and the daughter of George Jolley. Grace was seven years the junior of her husband and proceeded to outlive him by more than thirty years. Keith and Grace Esser did not have children and left little record of Keith's post-forestry adult life. A Directory of Alumni of the Biltmore Forest School printed in 1946 includes no mention of J. Keith Esser. Obituaries reporting his death on 16 February 1963 state that Esser was a retired coal company operator who had been active with the Boy Scouts of America, serving as the first scoutmaster in Carbon County. He built a log cabin at Split Rock Lodge and later donated this to the Boy Scouts. His widow, Grace, died in 1996 in a retirement home in Philadelphia, where she had earlier been employed by First Pennsylvania Bank. Both Essers are buried in a family plot at the Mauch Chunk Cemetery in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains correspondence and photographs produced by Jonathan Keith Esser (1893 - 1963) while he was a student on Biltmore Forest School field trips to Germany and various forested regions of United States, including the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast. The correspondence dates from 1910 to 1911 and contains a couple of undated letters. Esser composed one of the letters on 30 October 1910 while in Cadillac, Michigan, and wrote the other letters while in Lindenfels and Darmstadt, Germany, in late 1910 and early 1911. His mother was the recipient of most of the letters, although one of the letters is addressed to Esser's sister, Mary Dodson. In the letters Esser describes his impressions of Biltmore Forest School director Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck; his perceptions of German society; and his analysis of the forestry operations he observed firsthand in Germany and Michigan.

There are 418 images dating from 1899 to 1920 included in the collection. The images reside in four photo albums and a single envelope in the Forest History Society Archives. Three of the albums contain photographs and postcards documenting Esser's experiences while on Biltmore Forest School field trips to Michigan, North Carolina, the Adirondack region of New York State, and forested areas in Germany, especially the Spessart, Saxony, and Black Forest regions. The fourth album contains images from a U.S. Forest Service reconnaissance survey of the southern Appalachian region of the United States; Keith Esser was a member of the survey team. Photographs housed in the envelope depict World War I-era military training scenes as well as a few images from a Biltmore Forest School field trip. All of the photographs are black-and-white images; a few of the postcards are colorized.

Organization of Collection

The collection is divided into a Correspondence series and a Photographs series. Each series level "Scope and Content Note" includes descriptive information about the materials in each series as well as electronic links to digital representations of individual items.

Also available for browsing is a complete Photo Gallery that includes digital representations of all photographs and postcards from the Jonathan Keith Esser Collection. The gallery consists of index pages displaying thumbnail images with links to pages containing larger digital images and descriptive data.

Online Catalog Headings

Biltmore Forest School -- History.
Esser, Jonathan Keith, 1893 - 1963.
Foresters -- United States -- Biography.
Forestry schools and education.
Forests and forestry -- Germany -- Black Forest.
Forests and forestry -- Germany -- Saxony.
Forests and forestry -- Germany -- Spessart.
Forests and forestry -- Michigan -- History.
Forests and forestry -- New York (State) -- Adirondack Mountains Region -- History.
Forests and forestry -- North Carolina -- History.
Schenck, Carl Alwin, 1868 - 1955.
United States. Forest Service -- Officials and employees.
World War, 1914 - 1918.

Detailed Description of Collection

Series I: Correspondence (1910 - 1911, no date)
1 file folder; 5 items

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence of J. Keith Esser composed while he was a Biltmore Forest School student on field trips to forested regions of Germany and Michigan in 1910 and 1911. In the letters, which he wrote to his mother (Isabelle Simpson Esser) and sister (Mary Dodson), Esser describes his everyday experiences, his observations of forests and forestry practices in the various geographic regions he visited, and his impressions of fellow students and Biltmore Forest School director Carl Alwin Schenck.

For each item in this series, a summary description is provided along with a hyperlink leading to a full transcription and digital scan of the item presented in Adobe Acrobat .pdf file format. The transcriptions include the author's original spelling and phrasing verbatim without any editorial correction.

- Item 1:  J. Keith Esser Letter (23 October 1910)  [See Transcription]

Description:  Keith Esser composed this 8 - page handwritten letter to his mother, Isabelle Simpson Esser, on stationary sized 8 12/16" x 11" and preprinted with "Hôtel 'zum Odenwald', Lindenfels i.O." across the top edge. The letter's accompanying envelope is addressed as follows: "Mrs. George W. Esser, Mauch Chunk Morea Colliery, Pennsylvania, USA, Via England." Esser was a Biltmore Forest School student on his first field trip to Europe when he composed this correspondence. In it he describes his initial impressions of Germany, commenting on such things as his accommodations, German social customs, the natural and built landscape of Germany, and some of his interactions with Biltmore Forest School director Carl A. Schenck.

- Item 2:  J. Keith Esser Letter (30 October 1910)  [See Transcription]

Description:  In this correspondence to his sister Mary Dodson, Keith Esser discusses such topics as: a dinner party he attended at Dr. and Mrs. Schenck's house; the accommodations he and several other students found in Darmstadt, Germany; what he learned about planting conifers through his field work; general impressions of German society; and the use of coal in Germany. Esser wrote this 14 - page letter on plain paper stationary sized 5 12/16" x 9".

- Item 3:  J. Keith Esser Letter (12 February 1911)  [See Transcription]

Description:  This 2 - page letter Esser sent to his mother, Isabelle Simpson Esser, includes very brief sentences referring to a variety of topics, including: news discussed in his mother's previous letters to him; his mother's impending operation; plans for an upcoming weekend excursion to Switzerland; a Wagner opera he attended; and his negative impression of the German people. Keith Esser composed this letter, apparently while in Darmstadt, Germany, on stationary sized 8 12/16" x 10 10/16" and preprinted with "Hotel-Restaurant 'Darmstädter Hof', Rudolf Doll" on the top left corner.

- Item 4:  J. Keith Esser Letter (no date)  [See Transcription]

Description:  This letter consists of four pages of stationary sized 8 12/16" x 10 10/16" and preprinted with "Hotel-Restaurant 'Darmstädter Hof', Rudolf Doll" in the top left corner. The first page begins with text that continues from a previous page that is missing. Keith Esser composed the letter with ink, but the first page has a number "3" and "letter to Keith's mother" written on it in pencil. The correspondence focuses on a lengthy discussion of Esser's thoughts about being a Biltmore Forest School student. Esser discusses his mental and physical health; the rigors of forestry field work; benefits of the school's emphasis on practical field work over traditional theoretical studies; his travel itinerary; and the apparent handicap of Biltmore Forest School training for students more interested in government employment than in working for lumber companies in the private sector.

- Item 5:  J. Keith Esser Letter (no date)  [See Transcription]

Description:  Although undated, this letter has "In Camp #7 - Cadillac, Mich" written on the top right-hand corner of the first page, suggesting that Keith Esser composed this letter while on a Biltmore Forest School field trip there in either 1910 or 1911. In this letter that he wrote to his mother, Esser discusses his forestry field experiences in Cadillac, Michigan, as a Biltmore Forest School student. Topics covered include: traveling across country from Pennsylvania to Michigan; the size of his class; sleeping accommodations in the camp; and the daily routine of lectures and practical field work. Esser wrote this 8 - page letter on plain paper stationary sized 5 12/16" x 9".


[Return to Descriptive Summary]
Series II: Photographs (1899 - 1920, no date)
4 photo albums and 1 envelope; 418 items

Scope and Content Note

Photographs and postcards in this series primarily document (1) Biltmore Forest School field trip excursions in Europe and the United States during 1910 and 1911; (2) work conducted for a U.S. Forest Service reconnaissance survey of the southern Appalachian region of the United States in 1912; and (3) U.S. Army field training during the World War I era.

Thumbnail digital representations of images from Esser's photo collection are presented below along with brief caption information. The [Digital Surrogate] links to a larger digital image with more complete cataloging information.

- Image ID: Esser1Album10ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Afternoon mist in Black Forest, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album10bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Biltmore School group photo, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album11ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Clearcutting in Saxony, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album11bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Clearcut in Saxony, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album12ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Log piles, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album12bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Landscape patterns, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album13ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Separation between cutting units, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album13bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Forest labor houses, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album14ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Leaving for the Spessart Mountains, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album14bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Heidelberg city forests, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album15ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Stacked railroad ties, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album15bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [German wood yard.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album16ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Masonry splash dam, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album16bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Gang saw, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album17ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Horizontal piston saw, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album17bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Snow-influenced trees, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album18ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Larch in snow, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album18bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Salvaged firewood, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album19ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Beech forest, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album19bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Beech trunks, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album1ath    Image Date: 1910

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Plymouth Harbor, England.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album1bth    Image Date: 1910

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Hook of Holland.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album20ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Beech-spruce planting.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album20bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Spruce on hillside, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album21ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Redwoods in Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album21bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [White pine in Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album22ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Conifer row in Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album22bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Conifer row with people, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album23ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Conifers planted in Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album23bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Pressler bust.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album24ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Bust of Heinrich von Cotta at the Tharandt forest academy in Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album25ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Field trip in snow, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album25bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Three German crooks.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album26ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Tim at Frankenstein Castle.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album26bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Stork's nest, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album27ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Heidelberg, Germany, from the castle.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album27bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Heidelberg terrace farms.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album28ath    Image Date: 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [German street carnival.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album29ath    Image Date: 4/15/1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Lake Clear, New York.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album29bth    Image Date: 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Horse sled trip, New York.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album2ath    Image Date: 1910

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Electric locomotive, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album2bth    Image Date: 1910

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Neckar River near Heidelberg, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album30ath    Image Date: 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Adirondack forest cutting, New York.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album30bth    Image Date: 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Mill dam in New York.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album31ath    Image Date: 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [New York red pine.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album31bth    Image Date: 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Temporary New York forest.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album3ath    Image Date: 1910

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Odenwald Mountains near Lindenfels, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album3bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Maple/Scotch pine plantation, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album4bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Mixed stand of Scotch pine, Rhine River valley, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album5ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Firewood in Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album5bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Scotch pine plantation, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album6ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Tree felling machine, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album6bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Logging in the Black Forest, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album7ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Diseased fir, Black Forest, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album7bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Tree line, Black Forest, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album8ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Peeling logs, Black Forest, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album8bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Black Forest ridge, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser1Album9bth    Image Date: [1910 - 1911]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Black Forest logs on railcars, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album10ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Boom of steam cable log loader at work in eastern North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album10bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Steam cable log loader and crew in North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album11ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Burning slash after logging, North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album11bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [North Carolina cabin with mud and stick chimney.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album12ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Biltmore Forest School traveling by train in North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album12bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Yellow pine mill and floating logs.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album12cth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Silo burner at yellow pine mill.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album13ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Steam set carriage of double-cutting band saw.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album13bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Saw wood stacked.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album13cth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Cleared forest and girdled trees.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album13dth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Erosion problems.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album14ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Cummer Diggins Camp, Cadillac, Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album15ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Cooks at Cummer Diggins Camp, Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album15bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Wind storm damage.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album16ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Big trees damaged by wind storm, Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album16bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Beech damaged by wind storm, Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album17ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Wind storm damage, Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album17bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Trees uprooted by wind storm, Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album18ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Wind damage.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album18bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Tent nearly damaged by wind throw in Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album19ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Michigan hemlock.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album19bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Lunch time near Antioch township, Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album1ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Lunch on the Biltmore Estate.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album1bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Early auto fording a stream.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album20ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [High wheelers hauling logs.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album20bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Using High Wheelers to haul logs.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album21ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Gear driven locomotive hauling logs.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album21bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Biltmore School group on railcar.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album22ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [School group arrives at camp in Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album22bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Unloading at camp, Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album23ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Forest land cleared for farming.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album23bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Forest cleared for farmlands, Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album24ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Biltmore Forest School group on traincar, Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album24bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Maple-lined Granite Street, Cadillac, Michigan.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album25ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Michigan lumbertown panorama.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album26ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [New York State Forest Nursery.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album27ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [New York State Forest Nursery.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album28ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Seedling beds.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album29ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Seedling and transplant beds.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album2ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Pisgah Range, Vanderbilt Estate.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album2bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Greased log chute, North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album3ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Greased log skid in action in North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album3bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Skidding logs by horse in North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album4ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Skidding large logs by horse in North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album4bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Hauling logs by locomotive in North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album5ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Sawmill, western North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album5bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Log rafts on the Ohio River.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album6ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Biltmore Forest School at Camp Perry, North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album6bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Dr. Schenck lecturing in the trees, North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album7ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Tent crew at Camp Perry, North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album7bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [High Wheeler skidding logs, North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album8ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Logging with a High Wheeler in North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album8bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Steam skidding loblolly pine in eastern North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album9ath    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Older, smaller High Wheelers, in North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser2Album9bth    Image Date: [1910]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Steam cable skidder in North Carolina.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album10ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Foresters' housing in Saxony, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album11ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Biltmore Forest School group in Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album12ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Saxony cutting unit, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album13ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Saxon spruce mill, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album14ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Saxon spruce forests, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album15ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Pine regeneration.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album16ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Pine plantation in snow, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album17ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Nassau felling machine, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album18ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Scotch pine plantation, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album19ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Scotch pine thinnings, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album1cth    Image Date: [1910 - 1911]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Flowering dogwood.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album1dth    Image Date: [no date]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [French castle ruins.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album20ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Clearcutting near Eberstadt, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album21ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Pine cutting, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album22ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Yellow pine stands, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album23ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Scotch pine plantation, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album24ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Biltmore School field trip, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album25ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Black Forest stand, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album26ath    Image Date: [1910 - 1911]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Natural forest regeneration in Germany's Black Forest.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album27ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Black Forest timberline, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album28ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Spessart oaks, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album29ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Spessart beech and oaks, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album29bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Large oak tree in the Spessart Mountains region of Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album2ath    Image Date: [no date]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Irish peat bed valley.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album2bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Winter trudge, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album2cth    Image Date: [1910 - 1911]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [White pine seedling.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album30ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [German beech, birch, and spruce.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album31ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Coppice system near Karlsruhe, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album32ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Coppice system with retained trees, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album33ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Dense spruce stand, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album34ath    Image Date: [1910 - 1911]

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Red oak seedlings.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album35ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Scotch pine with oak and beech, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album36ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Maples with spruce, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album37ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [American white pine in Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album38ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Scotch pine near Darmstadt, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album39ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Horizontal saw, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album3ath    Image Date: 1899

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Petrified forest, Arizona.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album40ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Vertical gang saw, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album41ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Lumber pile, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album42ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Railroad tie piles, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album43ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Ferns beneath pine and beech, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album44ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Snow break, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album45ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Stacks of wood, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album46ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Beech plantation, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album47ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Scotch pine, beech, and basswood plantation, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album48ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [German tree plantation.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album49ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Spruce and beech plantations, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album49bth    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [German peasants carrying wood.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album4ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [German cutting standards.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album50ath    Image Date: 1910 - 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Scotch pine and beech, Germany.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album51ath    Image Date: 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Holland-America Line dock, Rotterdam, Netherlands.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album52ath    Image Date: 1911

[Digital Surrogate]

Image Title: [Near Saranac Lake, New York.]


- Image ID: Esser3Album53ath    Image Date: 1911

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