The collection consists of studio portraits and expedition photographs of anthropologists, administrators, scholars, and others. It includes some photographs of an Native American demonstrating sign language, possibly made during W J McGee's Seriland expedition.
Photographers represented in the collection are Charles Milton Bell, A. E. Dumbie; De Lancey W. Gill, Mme de Hermann, of Paris; Holland, of Trenton, New Jersey; Charles Lainer, J. Notman; Parker, George Prince, Macnabb, of New York; Moses P. Rice; Napolean Sarony; S. S. Teel; and A. Yasvoin, of St. Petersburg, Russia.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 70
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Additional photograph collections of anthropologists held in the National Anthropological Archives are Photo Lot 4822, Photo Lot 33, Photo Lot 39, and Photo Lot 77-80.
See others in:
Department of Anthropology photograph collection of anthropologists, circa 1864-1921
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Photo lot 70, Department of Anthropology collection of photographs of anthropologists, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
This collection is comprised of the professional papers of Gordon D. Gibson. The collection contains his correspondence, field notes, research files, museum records, writings, photographs, sound recordings, and maps.The bulk of the collection consists of Gibson's southwestern Africa research. This includes his field notes, film scripts, photographs, sound recordings, and grant proposals he wrote in support of his fieldwork in Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. In addition, the collection contains his research notes, maps, drafts, publications, and papers presented at conferences. While most of his research focused on the Herero and Himba, the collection also contains his research on the Ovambo and Okavango and other southwestern African groups. In the collection is a great deal of photocopies and microfilms of literature on southwestern African ethnic groups, many of which are in Portuguese and German and which he had translated for his files. He was also interested in African material culture, especially Central African headgear. His research on African caps is well-represented in the collection, and includes photos of caps at various museums, source materials, research notes, and textile samples of knots and loop work. Gibson's files as the curator of African ethnology at the National Museum of Natural History also make up a significant portion of the collection. Among these records are his files for the museum's Hall of African Cultures and other African exhibits; his files on the museum's African collections, early donors and collectors of the collections; his personnel files; documents relating to his committee work; department and museum memos; meeting minutes; and his records as head of the Old World Division and acting chair of the department. The collection also documents the efforts to establish the Smithsonian's National Anthropological Film Center, now the Human Studies Film Archives, as well as his work on the planning committee to establish the Museum of Man at the Smithsonian. Memos and minutes relating to the Smithsonian's Center for the Study of Man are also present in the collection. In addition to Gibson's field photos, the collection also contains African photos taken by others. Among these are Herbert Friedmann's photos of Kenya; Hausmann's Libya photos; photos by Ralph Kepler Lewis during the Morden Africa Expedition in Kenya; and photos by Lawrence Marshall, Volkmar Wentzel, Alfred Martin Duggan Cronin, and Father Carlos Estermann. There are also photos of the exhibit cases from the Hall of African Cultures; photos of Smithsonian and non-Smithsonian African artifacts; and copies of photographs he obtained from different archives, including the National Anthropological Archives. Other materials in the collection include his files as film reviews editor for the American Anthropologist during the 1960s and 70s and his activities in different organizations.
Arrangement:
Arranged into 19 series: (1) Correspondence, 1938-1998; (2) Southwestern Africa Research, 1951-2004; (3) Caps Research; (4) Nineteenth Century Collectors; (5) General Research Files; (6) Exhibits, 1959-2007; (7) Curatorial Files, 1936-1984; (8) National Anthropological Film Center, 1965-1983; (9) Museum of Man, 1952-1981 [bulk 1968-1981]; (10) Center for the Study of Man (1967-1979); (11) Writings, 1947-1981; (12) Organizations; (13) Daily Log, 1958-1983; (14) Personal Files ; (15) Card Files; (16) Photographs, circa 1904-1983 [bulk 1953-1983]; (17) Microfilm; (18) Maps; (19) Sound Recordings
Biographical Note:
Gordon D. Gibson (1915-2007) was trained at the University of Chicago (Ph.D., 1952) and joined the staff of the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology in 1958 as its curator of African ethnology. He served in that capacity until 1983. During the 1960s, he undertook a major renovation of the National Museum of Natural History's African exhibits, which had been on display since the 1920s. He developed the Hall of African Cultures, which opened in 1969 and remained on view until 1992. He was also instrumental in establishing the National Anthropological Film Center, now the Human Studies Film Archives. During his tenure, he also served as the first chairman of the Senate of Scientists of the National Museum of Natural History (1963-1964), chairman of the museum's photographic facilities committee (1968), member of the Center for the Study of Man, and member and chairman of the Department of Anthropology collections committee and its photographs records committee (1970s-1980s). He also had special interests in the department's library and processing lab. In 1980, he was chairman of a committee which studied the feasibility of establishing a Smithsonian Institution Museum of Man. Gibson held several offices and committee memberships with the Anthropological Society of Washington during the during the 1960s and 1970s and served as film review editor of the American Anthropologist. Gibson conducted fieldwork among the Herero and Himba in Botswana (1953, 1960-61), Namibia (1960-61, 1971-73), and Angola (1971-73). Articles produced from his field research include "Bridewealth and Other Forms of Exchange Among the Herero," "Double Descent and Its Correlates among the Herero of Ngamiland," "Herero Marriage," and "Himba Epochs." While in the field, he also filmed footage of the Herero, Himba, Zimba, and Kuvale. His edited films include Herero of Ngamiland (1953), Himba Wedding (1969), and The Himba (1972). In addition to the Herero and Himba, he also conducted research on the Okavango and Ovambo people. He edited and translated Carlos Estermann's Ethnography of Southwestern Angola (published in 3 volumes in 1976-81) and edited and contributed to The Kavango Peoples (1981). Gibson's research interests also included Central African headgear, coauthoring High Status Caps of the Kongo and Mbundu (1977) with Cecilia R. McGurk.
Related Materials:
Other materials relating to Gordon Gibson at the National Anthropological Archives can be found in the Records of the Department of Anthropology, Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and the Records of the American Anthropological Association.
The Human Studies Film Archives holds his films on the Herero, Himba, Kuvale, and Zimba.
The Smithsonian Institution Archives has materials relating to Gibson's work as the first chairman of the Senate of Scientists.
Provenance:
The papers of Gordon D. Gibson were received in three separate accessions. The first accession (comprised of correspondence; committee files; and materials relating to the Herbert Ward collection, the National Anthropological Film Center, the Center for the Study of Man, and the Museum of Man) was transferred to the National Anthropological Archives by Gibson after his retirement. A guide to this accession was created in 2001. An accretion (consisting of correspondence, fieldwork and research files, curatorial files, writings, photographs, sound recordings, and maps) was transferred to the archives by Gibson's family in 2007. His exhibition and museum specimen files were transferred to the archives in 2008 by the Department of Anthropology.
Restrictions:
The Gordon Davis Gibson papers are open for research. Access to the computer disks in the collection are restricted due to preservation concerns. The personnel files of Smithsonian staff have also been restricted.
Access to the Gordon Davis Gibson papers requires an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 7.75 x 9.75 in.)
Container:
Item M197a
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1890 March 12
Scope and Contents note:
Written after Ward's return from the Emin Pasha Expedition. Accepting one invitation to lecture, but declining to attend a reception and apologizing for another lecture. "I shall be most happy to deliver a talk about my Congo Cannibals ..."
General note:
M197a is the accession number in the Russell E. Train inventory list of the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History. On Ward's blind monogrammed personal stationery.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 7.75 x 9.75 in.)
Container:
Item M197b
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1890 September
Scope and Contents note:
Written after Ward's return from the Emin Pasha Expedition. Thanking Pond for his letter, mentioning (Joseph) Ritchie, saying that he is finishing his book and adding "As far as I learn there is likely to be a great row after Capt. Barttelot publishes his book in defence of his brother. Mrs. Jameson is also publishing her husband's journal-- Troup has his book ready for issue and Bonny is preparing a very lengthy account of his experiences. I think the public will be awfully sick of this matter before long."
General note:
M197b is the accession number in the Russell E. Train inventory list of the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History. On Ward's blind monogrammed personal stationery. Joseph Ritchie is probably a reference to Dr. Joseph Ritchie, approximately 1788-1819, who led an expedition across the Sahara Desert to reach the lower Niger, but died before the expedition reached its goal.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 7.75 x 9.75 in.)
Container:
Item M197c
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1890 October 5
Scope and Contents note:
Written after Ward's return from the Emin Pasha Expedition. Explains that Ward has lecture commitments until the end of April, that his book comes out on the 15th, he has been working on his lecture and hopes to spend the following winter in the States. "I could bring three lectures 'The Rear Guard', 'Stanley and the Arab ivory raiders in Central Africa' and 'The Satraps of the Congo'... I will send you on October 15th a copy of my book ...."
General note:
M197c is the accession number in the Russell E. Train inventory list of the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History. On Ward's blind monogrammed personal stationery.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
The collection consists of images of exhibits of anthropological material. These include Oceanic and African implements and artifacts exhibited at the Field Columbian Museum; a William Henry Holmes-designed diorama in Piney Branch (1895); costumed mannequins and busts at the United States National Museum; the Smithsonian Exhibit at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1891); dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History; African artifacts in Herbert Ward's studio in Paris; and exhibit halls in the Smithsonian Arts and Industries building (1891). The photographers represented in the collection include Paul Edmond Beckwith, Henry E. Sorgersen & Co., and Harry C. Ellis.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 4
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Photographs of exhibits at the Pan-American Exposition, previously filed in Photo Lot 4, have been relocated to National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 87-2L.
Additional Harry C. Ellis photographs of Herbert Ward's studio held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 75-52.
Additional images of Smithsonian anthropology collections held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 99-41.
Photo lot 4, Department of Anthropology photograph collection relating to anthropological exhibits, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History (U.S.). Department of Anthropology Search this
Extent:
1 Photographic print (007 in x 009 1/2 in)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Photographs
Place:
Africa
Scope and Contents:
Includes mounted elephant head, bronze statuary, and gorilla skeleton.
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.09710100
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Collection Citation:
Photo lot 4, Department of Anthropology photograph collection relating to anthropological exhibits, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History (U.S.). Department of Anthropology Search this
Extent:
1 Photographic print (007 in x 009 1/2 in)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Photographs
Place:
Africa
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.09710200
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Collection Citation:
Photo lot 4, Department of Anthropology photograph collection relating to anthropological exhibits, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
This collection is composed of fifty-one (51) drawings by Herbert Ward, made when he was a member of the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition. Most of the drawings depict men and women of the upper Congo River, but several others depict tools and implements.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Historical Note:
The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition (1886-1889) was a British expedition through the interior of Africa led by Henry Morton Stanley. The professed goal of the expedition was to provide aid to Emin Pasha, the governor of Equatoria, which was threatened by Mahdist forces of Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah.
Biographical Note:
Herbert Ward (1863-1919) moved to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then called Zaire) in 1884. He joined the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition (1886-1889) as an aide to Stanley. After the expedition, Ward returned to Europe, where he lectured and wrote about his experiences in the Congo. In 1893, he began formal art training, including the study of sculpture, and became a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society. He spent most of his later life crafting bronzes of Africans and African life; his sculptures and his collection of African artifacts were exhibited by the United States National Museum in 1922.
Conservation Note:
The drawings were arranged in 6 montages by the Ward/Barclay family. The drawings were removed from their original mats and placed in individual conservation mats. Photographs of the drawings in the original mats are available.
Related Materials:
Ward's collection of bronzes and artifacts held in the Department of Anthropology collections in accession 067312.
The National Anthropological Archives holds the Harry C. Ellis photographs of Herbert Ward's studio in Paris (Photo Lot 75-52). Additional Ellis photographs of Ward's studio can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 4 (under H.C. Ellis).
A pamphlet on the Herbert Ward African Collection can be found in the National Anthropological Archives reference files.
The Royal Geographical Society holds papers relating to Herbert Ward.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Works of art
Drawings
Citation:
MS 1999-23 Herbert Ward drawings from the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu