These records document the governance and programmatic activities of the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (MAI) from its inception in 1904 until its sublimation by the Smithsonian Institution in 1990. The types of materials present in this collection include personal and institutional correspondence, individual subject files, minutes and annual reports, financial ledgers, legal records, expedition field notes, research notes, catalog and object lists, publications, clippings, flyers, maps, photographs, negatives and audio-visual materials. These materials span a varied range of subjects relating to the activities of the museum which are more fully described on the series level.
Scope and Contents:
These records document the governance and programmatic activities of the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (MAI) from its inception in 1904 until its sublimation by the Smithsonian Institution in 1990. The types of materials present in this collection include personal and institutional correspondence, individual subject files, minutes and annual reports, financial ledgers, legal records, expedition field notes, research notes, catalog and object lists, publications, clippings, flyers, maps, photographs, negatives and audio-visual materials. These materials span a varied range of subjects relating to the activities of the museum which are more fully described on the series level.
Arrangement:
The MAI, Heye Foundation records have been arranged into 21 series and 50 subseries:
Series 1: Directors, 1908-1990 (1.1: George Gustav Heye, 1863-1962, 1.2: Edwin K. Burnett, 1943-1960, 1.3: Frederick Dockstader, 1950-1976, 1.4: Alexander F. Draper, 1972-1977, 1.5:Roland W. Force, 1963-1990, 1.6: George Eager, Assistant Director, 1977-1990)
Series 2: Board of Trustees, 1916-1990 (2.1: Board of Trustee Minutes, 1916-1990, 2.2: Individual Board Correspondence, 1943-1990, 2.3: Subject Files, 1917-1990)
Series 3: Administrative, 1916-1989 (3.1: Subject Files, 1904-1991, 3.2: Personnel, 1956-1991, 3.3: Legal, 1900-1989, 3.4: Task Force, 1976-1986, 3.5: George Abrams, 1980-1991)
Series 4: Financial, 1916-1990 (4.1: Ledgers, 1900-1962, 4.2: Correspondence, 1905-1985, 4.3: Subject Files, 1916-1990)
Series 5: Expeditions, 1896-1973Series 6: Collectors, 1872-1981Series 7: Registration, 1856-1993Series 8: Collections Management, 1937-1988Series 9: Curatorial, 1963-1990 (9.1: Curatorial Council, 1973-1990, 9.2: Gary Galante, 1979-1991, 9.3: Mary Jane Lenz, 1974-1994, 9.4: James G. E. Smith, 1963-1990, 9.5: U. Vincent Wilcox, 1968-1984, 9.6: Anna C. Roosevelt, 1973-1988)
Series 10: Exhibits, 1923-1991 (10.1: MAI Exhibits, 1923-1990, 10.2: Non-MAI Exhibits, 1937-1991)
Series 11: Public Programs, 1935-1990Series 12: Publications, 1904-1994 (12.1: Annual Reports, 1917-1989, 12.2: Publications by MAI, 1904-1990, 12.3: Publications by Other Sources, 1881-1990, 12.4: Administration, 1920-1988, 12.5: Archival Set of Official Publications, 1907-1976)
Series 13: Public Affairs, 1938-1991Series 14: Development, 1927-1991 (14.1: Administration, 1979-1990, 14.2: Donors, 1978-1990, 14.3: Fundraising, 1973-1990, 14.4: Grants, 1970-1990, 14.5: Subject Files, 1976-1990)
Series 15: Other Departments, 1914-1990 (15.1: Archives, 1914-1990, 15.2: Conservation, 1972-1989, 15.3: Education, 1921-1990, 15.4: Indian Information Center, 1977-1989, 15.5: Museum Shop, 1947-1989, 15.6: Photography, 1918-1990, 15.7: Physical Anthropology, 1919-1956)
Series 16: Huntington Free Library, 1926-1991Series 17: Museum Relocation, 1969-1992 (17.1: Subject Files, 1979-1990, 17.2: American Museum of Natural History, 1980-1987, 17.3: Dallas, Texas, 1984-1987, 17.4: Smithsonian Institution, 1979-1990, 17.5: U.S. Custom House, 1977-1990, 17.6: Other Locations, 1974-1987)
Series 18: MediaSeries 19: PhotographsSeries 20: Miscellaneous, 1837-1990Series 21: Oversize, 1873-1972 (21.1: Maps, 1873-1975, 21.2: Miscellaneous, 1884-1982)
History of the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation:
The Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation was established by wealthy collector George Gustav Heye in 1908. Heye began collecting American Indian artifacts as early as 1897 and his collection rapidly increased over the next several years. Based in New York, Heye bought collections and documentary photographs, sponsored expeditions, and traveled and collected items himself. In addition, once MAI was established he sponsored numerous expeditions across the Western Hemisphere, including North American, Canada, South America and Central America.
From 1908 to 1917 Heye housed his artifacts on temporary loan at the University of Pennsylvania's University Museum, Pennsylvania, in lofts on East 33rd Street in New York City, and at other depositories. In 1917, the collections moved from his apartment to their permanent museum location at Audubon Terrace, at 155th Street and Broadway in New York City. The museum, containing ethnographic and archaeological collections from North, Central and South America, opened to the public in 1922. Less than ten years later, Heye completed a storage facility in the Pelham Bay area of the Bronx, known as the Research Branch. Heye served as Chairman of the Board and Museum Director until his death in 1957. After growing concern about the financial and other management of the collections came to a head, the museum became part of the Smithsonian Institution in 1989 and in 1994 opened exhibit space in the U.S. Customs House at Bowling Green near New York City's Battery Park. The Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland later opened in 1999 and the main Washington, DC museum opened in 2004.
Please visit the following links for more information about the history of the museum; History of the Collection, Collections Overview, and Significance of the Collection. Moreover, for information about how the museum currently cares for and exhibits the collection, please see the Conservation department and recent entries regarding Exhibitions and Conservation on the NMAI Blog. In addition, see portions of the NMAI Archive Center's collections highlighted in the SIRIS Blog.
Related Materials:
In 2004, the Huntington Fee Library, once part of the MAI/Heye Foundation, was transferred to the Cornell University Library Rare Book and Manuscript Collection. While this collection mainly contained books, it also contained a significant amount of archival materials. The Huntington Free Library's Native American Collection contains outstanding materials documenting the history, culture, languages, and arts of the native tribes of both North and South America, as well as contemporary politics and human rights issues are also important components of the collection. Further information about the collection and links to finding aids can be found here: rmc.library.cornell.edu/collections/HFL_old.html.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Second and Third Ecuador Expeditions photograph collection
Creator:
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation Search this
Photographer:
Pepper, George H. (George Hubbard), 1873-1924 Search this
Saville, Foster H. (Foster Harmon), 1874-1942 Search this
Saville, Marshall H. (Marshall Howard), 1867-1935 Search this
Extent:
398 Negatives (photographic)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Place:
Manabí (Ecuador)
Ecuador
Date:
1907-108
Summary:
Photographic negatives made by George Pepper, Marshall Saville and Foster Saville during the second and third Ecuador expeditions in 1907 and 1908. The expeditions were sponsored by George Gustav Heye and included archaeological work in the Manabi and Esmereldas provinces in Ecuador.
Scope and Contents:
This collection includes negatives made in the Manabi and Esmereldas provinces of Ecuador during the second and third Ecuador Expeditions sponsored by George Gustav Heye. The photographs were shot by George Hubbard Pepper, Foster H. Saville and Marshall H. Saville. The majority of the photographs are from the Manabi Province and include images from Cerro Jaboncillo, Cerro de Hojas, Manta, La Secita and Monte Christi. The photographs from Esmereldas includes images from Isla de la Tola, La Tolita and Tonsupa. Many of the photographs document the excavation work that was conducted. This includes images of excavation sites and archaeological objects, local workers hired for the expedition as well as landscape views and street scenes in the various expedition locations in Ecuador. Additionally, many of Foster Savilles's photographs in Monte Christi and Manta show local happenings such as the procession of Fiesta de San Pablo, fishermen drawing nets and women bathing on the beach. There are several photographs that feature George Pepper and Marshall Saville in the field. The negatives were likely shot on both glass plate and nitrate. There are 75 glass plate negatives, made by George Pepper, that are still in the collection. The remainder of the negatives which were likely shot on nitrate are now on acetate film, copied during the 1960s photograph conservation project at the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation.
This collection includes negatives with the following catalog numbers: N00001-N00074, N00170-N00171, N00178, N00221, N00798-N01112, N01453-N01457
N00170 - N00171 ; N00178 ; N00221 are the only photographs from the Third Ecuador Expedition, the rest are from the Second.
Arrangement:
Arranged by catalog number.
Biographical / Historical:
The Second and Third Ecuador expeditions were sponsored by George Gustav Heye and conducted during the summers of 1907 and 1908. These followed an initial archaeological investigation on the coast of Ecuador in 1906, later called the First Ecuador Expedition. Marshall H. Saville, George Hubbard Pepper and Foster H. Saville arrived in Manabi, Ecuador in the middle of June, 1907 and the expedition remained there until October. The work centered mainly around the Cerro Jaboncillo and Cerro de Hojas hills where excavations of house-sites and mounds were conducted. Following this work in Manabi, George Pepper and Foster Saville traveled to the hills south of Mone Cristi and Marshall Saville proceeded to the Esmeraldas coast with Louis W. Niendorff conducting excavations through the first of November. In 1908 Marshall Saville returned to Ecuador with George D. Hedian, revisiting sites in Manabi and making several trips into the mountainous region south of Manta as well as Bahia de Caraques. Over the course of these two trips more than 3000 archaeological items were collected and brought back to New York as part of the Heye collection, eventually becoming part of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. For more information see "The Antiquities of Manabi, Ecuador; Final Report" by Marshall H. Saville in Contributions to South American Archaeology, Volume 2, 1910.
Related Materials:
A small amount of field notes from George Pepper can be found in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation records, NMAI.AC.001, (Box 189, Folder 3). Additional Pepper field notes can be found in his collection at Tulane University.
Provenance:
Sent to the Heye Museum, later the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, by George Pepper, Marshall Savillle and Foster Saville, along with other excavation materials in 1907 and 1908.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Thursday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu). Photographs with burials, human remains or any other cultural sensitivity are restricted.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited users to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not changed, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Second and Third Ecuador Expeditions photograph collection, Item Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
