Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Papers relating to the travel writer, photographer and lecturer Burton Holmes, and to De La Varre's own activities as a travel photographer. Includes letters, photographs, printed material, and a set of travel books written by Holmes.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into five series.
Series 1: Letters
Series 2: Photographs
Series 3: Papers relating to appearances of Burton Holmes and Andre La Varre
Series 4: Printed Materials
Series 5: Books
Related Materials:
Materials at Other Organizations
The Travel Film Archive
Andre De La Varre
Born in Washington D.C. in 1902, Andre de la Varre quit school at age 17, bought a motion picture camera, and went to Europe to find adventure. He began making his own travel films and in 1924 became a cameraman for Burton Holmes. In the early 1930's, de la Varre went out on his own as "The Screen Traveler" and made theatrical shorts for independent release as well as for many of the major Hollywood Studios. He traveled and filmed constantly. In an autobiographical sketch, he wrote: "During the winter of 1938-39 I drove more than 10,000 miles through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. I covered not only cities and coastal regions but criss-crossed back and forth over the Atlas, Djurdjura, Kebelie, and Aures mountains. I also visited many of the oases on the Northern Sahara and crossed over trails or no trails in the deserts and mountains." De la Varre continued traveling and making films for the next forty years and died in Vienna, Austria at the age of 87.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Mrs. Gretl de la Varre, June 30, 2001.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research and access on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
1 Film reel (23 minutes, color silent; 800 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
circa 1950
Scope and Contents:
Footage shot by Laura Boulton in various locations including in and around Angkor Wat, Cambodia and in and around New Delhi. Shots features architecture, temples, scenes from a Mela in New Delhi, the Ganges, and play on traditional musical instruments.
Legacy Keywords: Festivals Mela processions New Delhi (India) ; Garb Saddus New Delhi ; Pilgrimages Holy men Saddus New Delhi ; Shrines religious iconography New Delhi ; Bathing pilgrims Ganges River ; Processions pilgrims mela New Delhi ; Hair treatment of Saddus India ; Temples India ; Crowds festivals New Delhi ; Holy men Saddus India
General:
Local Numbers: HSFA 1987.9.11 - 13
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Laura Boulton films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
2 Copies (Two copies of a bound volume of 226 typed pages, with 48 mounted silver gelatin prints with captions, 194p, 29 x 22 cm.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Copies
Reports
Photographs
Place:
China
Japan
Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
Date:
1915
Scope and Contents:
A report prepared by archaeologist and art historian Langdon Warner on his travels of 1913-1914 to investigate the founding of an American school of Chinese archaeology to be established in Beijing. Warner's travels included Europe, Japan, Korea, China and Indo-China. Warner spoke with scholars, administrators and officials, and travelled to museums and archaeological sites. Warner traveled with his wife. The report contains two parts; the first being a summary of his travels, and the second, a series of recommendations for the proposed school.
Biographical / Historical:
Langdon Warner was an archaeologist and historian of Asian art in the first half of the 20th century. He was born on August 1, 1881 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and educated at Harvard University, which he graduated from in 1903. Between acting in various positions at museums across the country, most notably the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Nelson-Atkins Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Harvard Fogg Museum of Art, he travelled extensively in Asia. Including an 1913-14 trip sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution to explore the possibility of founding an American School of Chinese Archaeology in Beijing. Accompanied by his wife, their journey included visits to Europe, Japan, Korea, China, and Indochina. He spoke with scholars, administrators, and officials, and travelled to museums and archaeological sites. He compiled a two-part report: a summary of his travels and a series of recommendations for the proposed school.
During World War II, Warner taught a course on Japanese language, culture, and history to Civil Affairs Officers and acted as a Special Consultant for the U.S. Army's Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program, the so-called "Monuments Men." He created the Official List of Monuments for Japan, China, Korea, and Thailand. Warner spent the summer of 1946 working as an Expert Consultant to the Arts and Monuments Division of the Civil Information and Education Section under the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. Upon his return to Massachusetts, he resumed working at the Fogg Museum of Art until his retirement in 1950. During his career, he wrote numerous books on Asian art such as The Enduring Art of Japan, The Long Old Road in China, and Japanese Sculpture of the Tempyo Period: Masterpieces of the Eighth Century. Warner died on June 9, 1955 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was posthumously awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasures by the Japanese government for his efforts to preserve Japanese art and monuments during and after the war.
Local Numbers:
FSA A1994.07
Other Archival Materials:
Landon Warner Papers, circa late 18th century-1987 (bulk 1900-1959). Houghton Library, Harvard University
Langdon Warner Photograph Collection, 1903-1950. Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Langdon Warner Records, 1916-1929 (bulk 1917-1923). Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives.
Incomplete amateur edited film documenting an around-the world trip. The Fosters travel through southern Sudan and the Belgian Congo (Republic of Congo), Africa; Iraq; Thailand; Cambodia; and Calcutta, India. In Africa film records steamship voyage up unidentified tributary of the White Nile through marshy vegetation to British border post of Rejaf and an overland hunting trip from village of Irumu through the Ituri forest. Included are scenes of daily life on barges being pushed upriver by the steamer (men playing cards, head shaving and man playing stringed instrument); aspects of the steamer (wheelhouse, first class bunkhouse on upper deck, and white hunter shooting crocodile from deck); boys swimming in river; Irumu post house; loading expedition equipment on truck; truck crossing river on ferry made from dugout canoes; hunters being carried in primitive "sedan chairs" and workers clearing forest for road through the Ituri forest. Footage of Iraq is consists mostly of film aerial views shot out the window during airplane trip from Basra to Baghdad. Thailand footage includes the birthday celebration of King Rama III with scenes in the royal compound (including guards, nobelmen, children of noble families, King's children, and King and Queen), kite fighting tournament attended by the Royal family and extracting snake venom to make anti-toxins. Cambodian footage includes Angkor Wat.
Legacy keywords: Aerial photography ; Kites ; Royal houses ; Ruins ; Boats ; Crocodiles Africa ; Aerial views ; Tourism ; Palace Thailand ; Hunting Belgian Congo ; Travel ; Language and culture
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 Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Local Numbers:
HSFA 1996.8.1
Provenance:
Received from John W. S. Foster, III in 1996 and 2000.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Travelogues (Motion pictures)
silent films
Citation:
John W. S. and Arthur D. Foster world travel films collection, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Cataloging supported by Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.
