This series consists of journals and notebooks documenting field work and official travel of Edward William Nelson. Especially well documented is his ethnological
and natural history field work in Alaska, 1877-1881; his participation on the Corwin Expedition, 1881; and his field explorations of Mexico with Edward Alphonso Goldman,
1892-1902. The journals from his Mexico work, 1903-1906, are missing. The Alaska and Mexico journals offer a narrative of day-to-day activities and include information on
specimens collected; observations on native peoples and their folklore, legends, religion, vocabulary, and other aspects of their culture; sketches of people, villages, fauna,
and natural phenomena; and notes on the fauna, flora, and physiography of regions explored. There are typescript copies of the Mexico journals, 1892-1895.
Also included are journals and notebooks kept by Nelson on many official trips taken for the Bureau of Biological Survey; a journal from the Death Valley Expedition, 1890-1891;
and miscellaneous notebooks and address books.
Arranged (mostly) alphabetically.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7364, Edward William Nelson and Edward Alphonso Goldman Collection
