Letter to Merrick, Mrs. Richard T., from Myron Bement Smith Collection; Series 1: Papers;Subseries 1.8: Katharine Dennis Smith Papers and Correspondence
1 Item (Correspondence (3 leaves), 21.7 cm. x 28 cm and smaller)
Type:
Archival materials
Correspondence
Place:
Asia
Iran
Date:
bulk January 26, 1937:
1937
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Katharine Dennis Smith include some biographic and personal material, but most of the material consists of her correspondence after her marriage, Boxes 56 to 58. Of particular interest are her letters about life in Iran, especially those to her long time friend Amy Schroeder and to E. Vail Stebbins, friend and handler of affairs on behalf of the Smiths while they were in Iran. She was an active participant in her husband's academic and Islamic Archives projects, Series 2. She corresponded with many of the same people, sometimes answering letters written to her husband. Her letters complement his. Her correspondence is arranged in alphabetically and includes the years for which letters are available.
Arrangement:
The Islamic Archives; Subseries 1.8: Katharine Dennis Smith Papers and Correspondence, includes mostly Katharine Dennis Smith correspondence after her marriage, arranged alphabetically and includes the years for which letters are available.
Biographical / Historical:
Classical archaeologist, architect, and art historian Myron Bement Smith (1897-1970) had a life-long devotion to West Asia, accumulating some 87,000 items now in the Archives documenting Islamic art and culture from Spain to India, with an emphasis on architecture. Established in 1948 to further an appreciation for Persian art and culture, nearly seventy-five percent of Smith's "Islamic Archives" consists of his own work; the remainder obtained from other sources. One of the most significant portions of the "Islamic Archives" is the photographic material of Antoin Sevruguin, a commercial photographer in Tehran active during the 1870s to 1930. Other materials in the collection include Smith's personal and professional papers including correspondence, research files, writings, and documentation regarding his 1927-1928 Italian and 1933-1937 Iranian expeditions.
Local Numbers:
[Myron Bement Smith Collection; Series 1: Papers; Subseries 1.8: Katharine Dennis Smith Papers and Correspondence; Box 57; Folder 4]
FSA A.04 1.8.57.KDS
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Genre/Form:
Correspondence
Collection Citation:
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.