Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation
A Research Division of Carnegie Mellon University

Hunt Institute Archives Text Discovery Platform

Search a large and growing portion of our online collections, including handwritten documents.
PROTOTYPE

This prototype uses state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, including a vision-language model (VLM) capable of reading handwritten documents as well as typed and printed text, to create searchable transcriptions of digitized materials in the Hunt Institute Archives. This makes it possible to search the textual contents of individual pages, including material that may not be described in the archival catalog.

Use Keyword search for specific words, names, dates, scientific names, or phrases. Try Semantic search (experimental) to describe a topic, question, or kind of material when you do not know the exact wording used in the documents.

About the AI-generated transcriptions

The transcriptions are generated automatically from page images and may contain errors, especially with difficult handwriting, unusual names, multiple languages, image-quality problems, or complex layouts. They are intended primarily as a discovery aid rather than authoritative transcriptions.

Each result provides the generated transcription and links to the original digitized material and associated archival description so that readings can be checked against the source. The transcription workflow uses AI models run locally by the Hunt Institute.

About Keyword and Semantic search

Keyword search is the default and matches the wording in the transcriptions. Results contain all your terms. Use quotes for an exact phrase. Substring matching is supported, so aceae can find plant-family names ending in -aceae.

Semantic search (experimental) is useful when you know what kind of material you are looking for but do not know the words used in the documents. It ranks transcribed passages by similarity of meaning, so relevant results may not contain the exact words in your query.

Semantic queries can be broad research topics, descriptions of activities or relationships, or natural-language questions. For example:

plant collecting and fieldwork in South America medicinal, culinary, or other traditional uses of plants chromosomes and plant classification early herbals and botanical illustrations botanical institutions exchanging plants, seeds, and specimens microscopy and photomicrography in botanical research How did botanists and gardeners introduce plants from one region to another? grafting, budding, and propagation of tropical fruit crops

Semantic search is not a chatbot: a question is used as a search query, and the system returns archival passages that appear conceptually related to it rather than generating an answer or summary. Short descriptions and ordinary research questions generally work better than lists of disconnected keywords. Quotation marks have no special meaning in Semantic mode. Cross-language matching may work in some cases, but it should not be treated as translation.

Keyword and Semantic search are complementary. Keyword search lets you require particular wording; Semantic search can surface differently worded passages about the same subject. Depending on the research question, trying both can reveal different useful material.

Open a result: use the prominent page-and-transcription link to see the metadata, PDF, and full transcription. Keyword-search terms are highlighted in the transcription.

Archives Collections Database (ArchivesSpace): the Collection, Item/Folder, and Digital Object links open the corresponding archival records. Collection-level dates describe the collection as a whole, not necessarily the specific item or page.

If a PDF does not load: on the detail page, use the Digital Object link, click “Go to file” in ArchivesSpace, and navigate to the page number shown here.

Current limitations
  • Automated transcriptions can contain missing or incorrect text or unintended repetition. Difficult handwriting, image quality, unusual layouts, and multiple languages can reduce accuracy. Always consult the original page image when an exact reading matters.
  • Semantic search remains experimental. Its rankings are an additional discovery aid, not a complete or definitive set of relevant results, and highly ranked pages can sometimes be only broadly related.
  • This is an active prototype. Search coverage, transcriptions, functionality, and the interface may continue to change as additional archival material is processed and the system is improved.

← Back to results

Page 8 · DO #1527 · 212_Haas_Bx1FF6_r

Collection
Theodore Philipp Haas (1892–1977) papers
Item/Folder
Correspondence L–Z, 1941–1959, n.d.
Digital Object
DO #1527, page 8
Collection-level dates
1906–1986
Open PDF at page 8 ↗

Page transcription

Dr.Theodor Philipp Haas, 712-14 Spruce St.,Philadelphia 6.,Pa.
June 13,1945.

Dear Professor Lloyd:

I was very sorry to read in your postal card that you were ill.I supposed such M bad news but I hope with the proceeding season you may feel better pretty soon.Would it be not possible that your son who is living with you would write for you?

Now,Graced Disu,we have peace in Europe.I want to find out what happened with the Munich Botanical Garden.For this purpose I wrote first to the State Department and the latter suggested to write to the War Dept.So,wrote to day to the U.S. War Department.The Answer I will forward to you.

And now to matters of Science,I am bothered with the sorrow about my future,especially when I am citizen.My position at the Philadelphia College satisfies me by now means.There are three things which I do not like: 1. my low salary of $ 75,- including taxes (I have $ 68,55 exact) 2.the garden work which is rather tiring for me and demeantates a wasting of time and 3. the difficulty with doing research work.My boss has no interest in research work and does everything to prevent that I work on botanical problems!I have the feeling that they misuse my difficult economic situation.But nobody in the world can prevent me from doing scientifically what I want to do and I have now the plan to do some work on the native flora around Philadelphia on which nothing is done! The first "victim" of my interest is Utricularia cleistogamae.For the investigations on that plant I will make use of my new bought microscope.In Marchof this year I incidently saw in a shop for used objects a microscope form Germany,make "Hensoldt" I knw these Hensoldt pocket-or travel microscope were very famous in Germany.The man did not know this and so I bought it for $ 35.-It has a power of 600 times enlargement.It is a wonderful instrument and I am quite crazy with it.Just now I could not do very much on Utricularia cleistogamae.About 14 days ago I was at Bishopsbridge,NJ.,but I could see nothing of the plants which grew last year very abundant on that spot,on old cranberry bog.We were,Dr. Wherry and I, at Medford Lakes and saw a chamomine blooming specimen (U. subulata?) and several oleisto-gamous plants.The first problem,which I want to solve,is,how does the plant live. How does it overcome the winter,is it a perennial or annual plant?I have alcohol material and can now observe the living specimens.There is another problem,I never saw leaves on the plants.Mr. Long of the Academy showed no me specimens with leaves,What I observed just now on living specimens:- and there is no difference with alcohol preserved material - is that on the apical part of the runners the epidermis cells are tremendous swollen and look like "Wasser-Kissen"It makes the impression if the runner would move "elastic" through the substrate.Much more far behind,the shoots are covered by gland hairs,I must find out if the swollen epidermis cells show some chemical reaction which could give conclusions to the cell content.The transition from this part of the shoot to the part where only gland hair occur I have not seen yet.I wanted to have some financial help% by a grant of the Philosophical Society.
I had to make the application rather quick because the meeting was short time ahead,My boss refused the colaboration,and so my apliation was refused,I discussed this morning the problem with Dr. Pennell.He asked me if I have published pure scientific articles.I had to say MMM no,because I had no possibility to do/ it.The first cause is that I came to this country without any money and how my relatives were to me you know it best,Then I was aware of the difficulties for