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Creator
Mellen, Ida M., 1877-1970
Call number
MssCol 1958
Physical description
8.5 linear feet (7 boxes, 8 v., 1 package)
Language
Materials in English
Preferred Citation

Ida M. Mellen papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library

Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

Ida May Mellen (1877-1970) was an aquarist at the New York Aquarium, 1916-1929. She wrote books and articles in the fields of marine biology and felinology. Collection consists of correspondence, writings, family and personal papers, photographs, and printed matter. Includes personal letters, 1903-1959; correspondence, 1907-1960, with editors, publishers and others relating to Mellen's writings and professional interests; correspondence, 1925-1958, concerning cats; original manuscripts and typescripts of her major unpublished writings; typescripts of poems, lectures and radio talks; and genealogical papers including her study of Mellen family ancestry in America. Also, notes for her writings, personal notebooks, childhood diary and letters, family photographs, newsclippings, and scrapbooks containing her published articles and references to her in print.

Biographical/historical information

Born in N. Y. C., d. of Andrew Jackson Mellen and Mary Davis Sprague

1893 - graduated from Lockwood Academy, Brooklyn

1900 - graduated from Browne's Business College, Brooklyn

1901-1916 - law reporter, N. Y. C.

1908-1910 - student at Marine Biological Lab, Woods Hole

1916-1929 - aquarist, New York Aquarium, engaged in care and feeding of aquatic animals in captivity

1929 - toured Europe studying public aquarium methods

1930 - engaged in authorship and independent research

Member: Alden Kindred of N. Y. City and Vicinity

International Humane Education Foundation

Thomas Paine Memorial Committee

The World Calendar Assoc.

Author: (monographs)

"The Whitefishes" (with J. Van Osten), 1923

"A Table of Information Regarding Aquariums of the World", 1925 (revised, 1928)

"The Natural and Artificial Foods of Fishes", 1927

"The Treatment of Fish Diseases", 1928

(Books)

Fishes in the Home, 1927 (revised, 1954)

Young Folks' Book of Fishes, 1927

Roof Gardening", 1929

1001 Questions Answered About Your Aquarium (with Robt. J. Lanier), 1935 (revised, 1953)

A Practical Cat Book, 1939

The Science and Mystery of the Cat, 1940

Outstanding Members of the Mellen Tribe in America, 1941

Twenty Little Fished (juvenile), 1942

The Wonder World of Fishes, 1951

The Natural History of the pig, 1952

(Articles)

Numerous articles and book reviews esp. in fields of marine biology and felinology

SEE: Who's Who in Amer, vol. 31, 1960-1961; Contemporary Authors, vol. 7-8, 1963.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328