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 57 · DO #3543 · 324_Traverse_Bx6FF26_r

Collection
Alfred Traverse (1925–2015) papers
Item/Folder
Alan Graham, 1957–1999
Digital Object
DO #3543, page 57
Collection-level dates
1948–2001
Open PDF at page 57 ↗

Page transcription

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
AUSTIN 12

THE PLANT RESEARCH INSTITUTE
October 8, 1957

Dr. Alfred Traverse
Shell Development Company
3737 Bellaire Blvd.
Houston 25, Texas

Dear Dr. Traverse:

I received a letter from Dr. Turner a few weeks ago concerning the possibility of exchanging some pollen slides. He said you expressed an interest provided my slides were up to par. I have included five slides which are representative of what I have and would be able to send about 300 more ranging from spores of ferns and other cryptogams, through Gymnosperms to families of the Angiosperms. At the present time I have gone through family 128, Leguminosae, in our herbarium, having 152 families (fide Engler and Prantl) from which to obtain pollen. In addition I have about 75-100 species of Dr. Turner's African plants ready for processing.

Dr. Tharp has expressed the feeling that more than one person going through the herbarium removing pollen from the same plants would be both redundant and not in the best interest of the herbarium. This is assuming, of course, that whoever goes through the herbarium removing pollen will make such available to other workers. It is with this in mind that I am suggesting the possibility of exchange.

Since at the present time my work is with the Botany Department, I am obligated to deposit one slide into the herbarium slide collection. Therefore, I would like to exchange the slides in duplicate. If you decide you would like to keep these five slides, I will send the duplicates later. I have included data relating to source, collector, etc., for your reference purposes and the technique used to prepare the material. The slides are sealed with "microscopic cement", a product of John Bell, Hills and Lucas, Ltd., London.

Naturally, it would not be of value to you to receive slides you already have; therefore, if you would care to see a list of my material, I could bring a card catalogue from which you could select. As my home is in Houston, the trip would not be inconvenient.

I will be very interested to hear your opinion and comments on the matter and sincerely hope some kind of exchange will be possible.

Respectfully yours,
Alan Graham