Leslie Coleman Papers

Accession

Identifier: 2022-001

Content Description

The accession consists of papers, booklets and photographs related to Leslie Coleman. Leslie Coleman was a Canadian entomologist, plant pathologist and virologist. He was the first Director of Agriculture in Mysore State. He was instrumental in setting up agricultural research and agricultural education institutions in the state. He conducted studies on plant protection from pests and diseases, often collaborating with his colleagues as well as farmers and agriculturists in Mysore State. He worked in the Mysore State from 1908 to 1934. He returned to India in 1953, and conducted a tour of the state, and also compiled a report on the agricultural practices in the places where he had worked. The accession includes original papers from Coleman. The letters mainly are from Coleman’s 1953-54 trip to India. There are also a few letters of condolence from Coleman’s friends and family after his sudden death in a car accident in 1954. Newspaper clippings of the media coverage of Coleman’s demise is also part of the accession. The photographs are mostly taken by Coleman or his family members documenting their life and work in India. It includes a few official albums and photographs that document people and agricultural work in the Mysore State. A few photographs are from tea parties and public addresses during Coleman 1953-54 trip to India. It also includes copies of archival documents from the Karnataka State Archives, collected by Mallik as part of his research on Coleman. Booklets, brochures and invitations pertaining to a Coleman Lecture series and event organised by University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK in 2014 is also part of the accession. Media clippings and books on Coleman collected by his daughter AnnWiddowson has also been included

Condition Description

The collection is in a good condition. The photographs from the 1910s need special care while handling.

Accession Date

2022-03-30

Dispostion

The collection draws from material related to Leslie Coleman donated by BM Mallik, professor of entomology at the University of Agricultural Sciences (GKVK). Coleman was appointed by the Maharaja of Mysore as Entomologist and Mycologist. He worked in Mysore from 1908 to 1933. When the Agriculture Department was established in 1913, he was appointed as its Director, a charge he held till 1933. Mallik received Coleman’s archival documents from Coleman’s family residing in Canada. Mallick wrote to Tom Widdowson informing him about the transfer of the Coleman material to NCBS Archives. Tom Widdowson consented to the transfer via email. Physical material was received on Feb 28, 2022 by Venkat Srinivasan, Archives at NCBS.

Retention Rule

The Coleman Papers fits under the scope of the Archives at NCBS as part of the history of contemporary biology in India through its focus on the early histories of agricultural sciences in the Mysore State. The Archives shall have full authority in handling the material in the future.