The Peckham Award was established in June 2000 at the Historic Iris Convention in Syracuse, New York.  The award honors the editor of the 1939 American Iris Society Alphabetic Iris Checklist.

The award is presented to the highest placed historic iris in an official show.  The iris must earn a Best of Section rosette to meet the minimum requirements of the award.  The historic iris may earn the award in the historic iris section or any appropriate iris section.  All entries of the same variety must be placed in one section for the award to be considered.  The classification committee must make the placement of the iris if any question arises.  The historic iris award is unique in this respect since it does not indicate type of iris, just that it be historic. 

The Award is a 5 x 7 inch engraved plaque presented at the annual AIS Region 2 meeting.