Descartes Pascal

Historic images of rural Iowa

Contents: About Pascal | About the Collection | Tech

About Pascal

Descartes Pascal (1870-1937) was a photographer, farmer, and pioneer seed corn breeder. Pascal was born in De Witt, Clinton County, Iowa, where he raised corn, shorthorn cattle, and Berkshire hogs. Pascal became interested in corn breeding after 1900 and developed the Grand Champion ear of pure bred Reid’s Yellow Dent corn in 1907. He also wrote and published articles on corn breeding; spoke at colleges, farmers’ institutes, and chautauquas; judged corn breeding contests in Iowa; and served as secretary to the Iowa Corn Growers Association. Pascal was also a practicing photographer.

Back view of the Pascal house, Grand Mound, Iowa in winter. Men are cutting wood. Between the two men on the left is a circular saw. On the right are two horses.
Pascal House
Two women seated beside the back door of their house in DeWitt, Iowa. On the left is Della M. Cotton and on the right is Bertha M. Cotton. They are the daughters of Salem Cotton and his wife Mercy Brown.
Two Women Seated
The Bussen farm house and outbuildings in winter. The house and yard are enclosed by a picket fence. The lawn is covered with snow. There is cupola on one of the outbuildings.
Bussen farm
Street scene in Grand Mound, Iowa. Two men are sitting outside a storefront. Above another shop there is a sign for a cobbler named "A. Schultz" and a dog is sitting beside the doorway to the shop. Farther down the street, three young boys lean against a fireplug or hydrant.
Street scene in Grand Mound

About the Collection

The collection (1890-1937, undated) includes a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and memorabilia related to Pascal’s achievements in corn breeding, and corn breeding in Iowa generally. Also included are 180 glass plate negatives and two tintypes made by Pascal, documenting rural Iowa from the 1890s through the 1910s. Included are family portraits (interior and exterior), family groups, school children, men and women with guns, acrobats, tight rope walkers, several people reenacting a duel, windmills, haystacks, barns, livestock, farmhouses, fields, small town streets, and construction of a school.

Two men mixing cement to build an ice house behind the Pascal house east of Grand Mound, Iowa.
Mixing Cement for an Ice house

Use copies are available in box 19. The 1907 Reid’s Yellow Dent ear of corn, along with its display case, is included.

Finding Aid

Finding Aid: https://findingaids.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/manuscripts/MS091.html

Technical Credits - CollectionBuilder

This digital collection is built with CollectionBuilder, an open source framework for creating digital collection and exhibit websites that is developed by faculty librarians at the University of Idaho Library following the Lib-Static methodology.

Using the CollectionBuilder-CSV template and the static website generator Jekyll, this project creates an engaging interface to explore driven by metadata.

More Information Available

Technical Specifications
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