Search Results

Creator:

Stewart, Jack Thomas, 1926-2005  Search this

Subject:

Thomas, Steffen  Search this

Kahn, Wolf  Search this

Townsend, Rodman  Search this

Romano, Clare  Search this

Toney, Anthony  Search this

Egan, Charles  Search this

Weiner, Sam  Search this

Baxter, Violet  Search this

Walker, Herbert Brooks  Search this

Goulet, Lorrie  Search this

Gold, Nancy  Search this

New York City Transit Authority  Search this

World Trade Center (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Yale University  Search this

Type:

Drawings

Sound recordings

Paintings

Sketchbooks

Interviews

Transcripts

Video recordings

Topic:

Street art  Search this

Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Mail art  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Graffiti art  Search this

Designers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)15863

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)294349

AAA_collcode_stewjack

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_294349

Creator:

National Museum of the American Indian  Search this

Type:

Symposia

Lectures

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2014-10-16T19:49:21.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Native Americans;American Indians  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianNMAI

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianNMAI

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_bYzGB0MTBX0

Creator:

National Museum of the American Indian  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2017-04-25T00:59:23.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Native Americans;American Indians  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianNMAI

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianNMAI

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_5HhgAkygVzU

Published by:

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909  Search this

Edited by:

W.E.B. Du Bois, American, 1868 - 1963  Search this

Illustrated by:

Frank Walts, American  Search this

Medium:

ink on paper

Dimensions:

9 3/4 x 6 7/8 x 1/8 in. (24.8 x 17.5 x 0.3 cm)

Type:

magazines (periodicals)

Place printed:

New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

Date:

July 1918

Topic:

African American  Search this

Advertising  Search this

Associations and institutions  Search this

Business  Search this

Caricature and cartoons  Search this

Civil Rights  Search this

Education  Search this

Literature  Search this

Mass media  Search this

Poetry  Search this

Politics  Search this

Race relations  Search this

Social life and customs  Search this

Social reform  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Bobbie Ross in memory of Elizabeth Dillard

Object number:

2012.84.7

Restrictions & Rights:

Public domain

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Documents and Published Materials-Published Works

Exhibition:

Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968

On View:

NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 2, C 2053

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd555238ca1-6358-4e5e-b1bc-9ac6bc404398

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2012.84.7

Creator:

Stewart, Jack, 1926-2005  Search this

Names:

New York City Transit Authority  Search this

World Trade Center (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Yale University -- Students  Search this

Baxter, Violet  Search this

Egan, Charles, 1911-  Search this

Gold, Nancy  Search this

Goulet, Lorrie, 1925-  Search this

Kahn, Wolf, 1927-  Search this

Romano, Clare  Search this

Thomas, Steffen, 1906-  Search this

Toney, Anthony  Search this

Townsend, Rodman  Search this

Walker, Herbert Brooks, 1927-  Search this

Weiner, Sam  Search this

Extent:

9.9 Linear feet

7.31 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Drawings

Sound recordings

Paintings

Sketchbooks

Interviews

Transcripts

Video recordings

Date:

1926-2010

Summary:

The Jack Stewart papers are dated 1926-2010 and measure 9.9 linear feet and 7.31 GB. A significant portion of the collection concerns Stewart's dissertation, "Subway Graffiti: An Aesthetic Study of Graffiti on the Subway" (New York University, 1989), related research, writings, and exhibitions on the subject. Biographical materials, correspondence, writings, printed and digital material, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographic materials document his career as a painter, muralist, designer, educator and administrator.

Scope and Content Note:

The Jack Stewart papers are dated 1926-2010 and measure 9.9 linear feet and 7.31 GB. A significant portion of the collection concerns Stewart's dissertation, "Subway Graffiti: An Aesthetic Study of Graffiti on the Subway" (New York University, 1989), related research, writings, and exhibitions on the subject. Biographical materials, correspondence, writings, printed and digital material, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographic materials document his career as a painter, muralist, designer, educator and administrator.

Biographical materials include a "Video Archive" in digital format, consisting mainly of Jack Stewart being interviewed on several occasions by Nancy Gold for her television show, "What It Takes." In addition to discussions about Stewart's career, the shows include examples of his paintings and murals along with views of him at work.

Correspondence mostly documents Stewart's artistic career and work as an educator and administrator; there is some personal correspondence, as well. Of particular note are letters to Rodman Townsend who commissioned a mural about the human brain; they discuss the details of the project and its evolution, brain research, and subsequent exhibitions of related paintings. Illustrated letters and greeting cards with original artwork are from Violet Baxter, Lorrie Goulet, Wolf Kahn, Clare Romano, Anthony Toney, and Sam Weiner. Herbert Brooks Walker sent several pieces of mail art and, while in Italy, collected graffiti information for Stewart. Letters Stewart wrote to his mother span decades; the best represented periods are the years he served in the U.S. Army and studied at Yale University.

Writings and notes consist of Stewart's dissertation ("Subway Graffiti: An Aesthetic Study of Graffiti on the Subway"), miscellaneous writings and notes, and art and architecture notebooks. Dissertation documentation includes the manuscript, drafts, and related records. Among the miscellaneous writings and notes - published and unpublished - are shorter pieces, articles, student papers, and teaching notes. Of particular interest are notes/instructions for a performance piece titled "Endless Subway," "Memories of Steffan Thomas" and "My Recollection of Charles Egan." Also found are minutes of Cooper Union adjunct faculty meetings (1965-1966), and reports written when provost of the Rhode Island School of Design. Art and architecture notebooks (5 volumes) were compiled while at Yale University.

Research files on graffiti contain many sound recordings and some transcripts of interviews with graffiti writers, voluminous lists of graffiti writers' names/tags, correspondence, notes, photographs, and a wide variety of printed material. Some of the material is in digital format. Stewart began collecting these materials as his interest in graffiti developed. They were used for his dissertation and material continued to be added after the dissertation was completed.

Printed material mentioning Stewart or containing reproductions of his work includes exhibition catalogs, posters, and newsletters.

Artwork by Jack Stewart consists of drawings, paintings, and one etching; also found are designs and plans for tables, murals, and other projects. Drawings include figure studies, heads, and landscapes; most are in pencil and some in ink. The small number of paintings are oil on canvas (removed from stretchers), and gouache on paper and board. Sketchbooks (44 volumes) contain mostly pencil drawings and sketches, and a few studies for paintings and murals. Two volumes include writings about travels and events; of particular interest are "Notes on Kline's funeral May 1962," "Visit to Roman Bronze Art Foundry," and "Notes on My Development."

Photographic materials consist mainly photographs, but also include digital images and 35-mm color slides. Images of Stewart include views of him with paintings and working in his studio. Identified individuals with whom he appears are: Regina Stewart (wife), Brandon Stewart (son), Lil Stewart (mother), Ninalee Craig, Irving Sandler, and students in Urbino, Italy. Photographs of artwork document murals such as Raw Material (composed of shirt labels), and Versailles Hotel in Miami Beach; among the paintings documented are State of the Union, Icons of Western Art and Revelation XVI-16 (both with keys to individuals portrayed). Exhibition openings and installations are shown in photographs, color slides, and video recordings. Also found are photographs of the World Trade Center site taken by Stewart in December 2001.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series:

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1926-circa 2009 (Boxes 1,11; 0.6 linear foot, ER01-ER02, 3.92 GB)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1944-2009 (Boxes 1-2; 0.7 linear foot)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1947-2003 (Boxes 2-5; 3.1 linear foot)

Series 4: Research Files on Graffiti, 1972-2010 (Boxes 5-7,11; 2.8 linear foot, ER03-ER05, 3.18 GB)

Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1945-2002 (Boxes 8, 11, OV 13; 0.7 linear foot)

Series 6: Scrapbooks, circa 1990-2003 (Box 8; 0.2 linear foot)

Series 7: Artwork, 1946-2000 (Boxes 8, 11, OV 12; 0.3 linear foot)

Series 8: Sketchbooks, 1951-2004 (Boxes 8-9; 1.3 linear foot)

Series 9: Photographic Materials, circa 1950s-2010 (Boxes 10-11; 0.4 linear foot, ER06-ER07, 0.208 GB)

Biographical Note:

Jack Stewart (1926-2005) was a painter, muralist, designer, educator and administrator in New York City. After developing an interest in graffiti in the 1970s, Stewart eventually wrote a dissertation on the subject, "Subway Graffiti: An Aesthetic Study of Graffiti on the Subway" (New York University, 1989) and was recognized as an expert on mass transit art.

Jack Stewart began studying art at the High Museum School in his hometown of Atlanta when he was 10 years old. At age 14, he began a 4 year apprenticeship with painter and sculptor Steffen Thomas. After serving in World War II, he enrolled at Yale University (B.F.A. 1951) as a sculpture student, but soon switched to the painting department where he studied with Josef Albers and Willem de Kooning. After graduation, Stewart began receiving mural commissions and enrolled in classes at Columbia University School of Architecture (1951-1953). His interest in architecture was tied to understanding how to work effectively with architects on mural projects. Later, Stewart developed an interest in graffiti which he pursued through graduate study at New York University (M.A., 1975 and Ph.D., 1989).

Stewart created murals in ceramic tile, mixed media and stained glass. In addition to mosaic murals, he designed tables with mosaic tops. As an outgrowth of his mosaic work, Stewart developed a technique for laminating stained glass onto plate glass that, by eliminating the need for lead, opened new design possibilities. Mural commissions included work for Hamilton Hotel in Chicago, Versailles Hotel in Miami Beach, Public School 28 in New York City, and several ocean liners. The most unusual mural, Raw Material commissioned by Cluett Peabody and Company, was composed of shirt labels embedded in acrylic.

Beginning in 1950 Stewart participated regularly in group shows and enjoyed solo exhibitions mainly in the New York City area. He also showed in Philadelphia, Georgia, Rhode Island, Mexico and Italy, and was included in exhibitions circulated by the American Federation of Arts.

Stewart taught at the college level for nearly thirty years, including: The New School (art and architecture, 1953-1958); Pratt Institute (interior architectural design, 1955-1960); The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (painting, drawing, human anatomy, art history, 1960-1976; Art Department Chairman, 1971-1976); International Center of Mythymna, American Division, Lesbos, Greece (summer school, 1962-1965); Columbia University (M.F.A. program instructor, 1966-1976); and New York University (drawing, 1967-1975). In 1976 he was appointed Vice President and Provost of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Stewart was active in several professional organizations. He served as New York Artists Equity Association Secretary (1986-1987) and President (1987-1989); President of the National Society of Mural Painters (1996-2000); member of the advisory board of the Steffen Thomas Museum and Archives, Buckhead, GA (1997- 2000s); and President of the Fine Arts Federation of New York (2003-2004). The National Academy of Design elected Jack Stewart an Academician in 1995.

Jack Stewart and Margot Schwarzhaupt, an artist, were married in 1947; they had one son, Brandon. Painter and arts administrator, Regina Serniak, became Jack Stewart's wife in 1976.

Jack Stewart died in New York City in 2005.

Related Materials:

Jack Stewart papers, 1926-2015, are located at Emory University Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.

Provenance:

Donated in 2010 by Regina Stewart, widow of Jack Stewart.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. This collection is copyright restricted.

Rights:

The Jack Stewart papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Street art  Search this

Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Mail art  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Graffiti art  Search this

Designers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Sound recordings

Paintings

Sketchbooks

Interviews

Transcripts

Video recordings

Citation:

Jack Stewart papers, 1926-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.stewjack

See more items in:

Jack Stewart papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-stewjack

Creator:

Klug, Linda M. (Linda Marie), 1940-  Search this

Extent:

7.3 Linear feet (15 boxes)

Culture:

Filipinos  Search this

Zapotec  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Dissertations

Maps

Scripts (documents)

Photographs

Field notes

Place:

Oaxaca (Mexico : State)

Philippines -- Fishing

Samal Island (Phillipines)

Philippines -- Ethnology

Philippines -- ethnomuiscology

Philippines -- Children

Philippines -- Ethnobotany

Philippines -- Linguistics

Date:

1965-1986

Summary:

These papers relate to the professional and personal life of Linda M. Klug. The bulk of this collection relates to Klug's work in the Philippines with the Samal culture. The collection mainly reflects Klug's interests in linguistics and childhood behavior. The collection also pertains to Klug's interests in a wide variety of topics including, but not limited to: ethnomusicology, marriage and religious practices, kinship units, economic and ecological factors, and gastronomy. Included in the collection are field notes, linguistic materials, research notes, her PhD dissertation, compositions, correspondence, card files, maps, photographs, slides, a journal, expense accounts, grant applications, scripts and other documents that cover a period from the mid -1960's to the mid-1980's.

Scope and Contents:

These papers relate to the professional and personal life of Linda M. Klug. The bulk of this collection relates to Klug's work in the Philippines with the Samal culture. The collection mainly reflects Klug's interests in linguistics and childhood behavior. The collection also pertains to Klug's interests in a wide variety of topics including, but not limited to: ethnomusicology, marriage and religious practices, kinship units, economic and ecological factors, and gastronomy.

Included in the collection are field notes, linguistic materials, research notes, her PhD dissertation, compositions, correspondence, card files, maps, photographs, slides, a journal, expense accounts, grant applications, scripts and other documents that cover a period from the mid -1960's to the mid-1980's.

Arrangement:

The Linda Klug papers are arranged in 6 series: (1) Field Notes, 1968-circa 1970; (2) Writings and Drafts, 1965-1986; (3) Films, circa 1971-circa 1976; (4) Research, circa 1968-circa 1986; (5) Personal, 1968-1984; (6) Visual Material, circa 1968 - circa 1971.

Biographical / Historical:

Linda M. Klug (1940- ) was an anthropologist and professor emeritus at Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington. Klug's research interests include the Zapotec Culture of Mexico and Samal Culture in the Philippines. She conducted field work in the Philippines beginning in September of 1968 and remained there until November of 1969. While in the Philippines, Klug focused on studying the Zamboanga area and the island of Malanlipa (Lahat Ano). Klug later returned to the Philippines during the summer of 1971 in order to shoot footage for her documentary films: Life on Samal Island (published 1976) and Patterns of Samal Childhood. Much of Klug's work in the Philippines influenced her later career.

Klug received her BA at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She completed her MA thesis on Acculturation and Marketing in Eight Oaxacan Villages (1969) for San Franciso State University. She received her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh after submitting a dissertation entitled Kinship and Alliance on Lahat Ano (1972).

Related Materials:

The audiotapes (21), audiocassettes (3), and reels of film (64) from this collection were transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives. Also, one artifact was sent to the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology Collections.

Provenance:

The Linda Klug papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives in 2002 by Professor Linda Klug.

Restrictions:

The Linda Klug papers are open for research.

Access to the Linda Klug papers requires an appointment.

Rights:

Contact the repository for terms of use.

Topic:

Language and languages -- Documentation  Search this

Genre/Form:

Dissertations

Maps

Scripts (documents)

Photographs

Field notes

Citation:

Linda Klug papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.2002-31

See more items in:

Linda Klug Papers

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-2002-31

Creator:

Johnson, Robert E. (Robert Erik), 1945  Search this

Names:

Nicodemus, Lawrence G., 1909-2004  Search this

Extent:

1 Boxe (Oversize)

2.7 Linear feet (4 document boxes, 2 boxes of index cards and 16 sound recordings)

Culture:

Coeur d'Alene  Search this

Makah  Search this

Indians of North America -- Plateau  Search this

Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Field notes

Sound recordings

Place:

Makah Indian Reservation (Wash.)

Neah Bay (Wash.)

Date:

1969-1971

Scope and Contents:

This collection documents the research Robert E. Johnson conducted for his dissertation on the Coeur d'Alene language, as well as his fieldwork on the Makah language. Johnson's papers consist of field notes, audio recordings, index cards, and transcripts concerning both languages. The Coeur d'Alene recordings are of Lawrence Nicodemus. The Makah recordings were done with several of the last remaining speakers of that language, most of whom were over eighty years old when the recordings were made.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into two series: 1) Coeur d'Alene Language, 1969 and 2) Makah Language, 1971.

Biographical / Historical:

Robert E. Johnson, an anthropological linguist, received a B.A. in psychology from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Washington State University. As a doctoral student he conducted field research on the Coeur d'Alene language on the tribe's reservation in Idaho (1969 and 1970). In 1971, he did fieldwork on the Makah language in Washington state.

Johnson began teaching at Gallaudet University's Department of Linguistics in 1981. While there, he engaged in research on the phonetic, phonological, and morphological structures of signed languages. He studied the structures of American Sign Language, Argentine Sign Language, and the sign language of a Yucatec Maya community. He also worked with Scott Liddell on a phonetic notation system for signed languages and co-authored with Liddell and Carol Erting "Unlocking the Curriculum: Principles of Achieving Access in Deaf Education." In addition, he provided consulting services as an expert witness on Miranda rights for deaf suspects.

Johnson retired from Gallaudet University in December of 2011.

Sources Consulted

Johnson, Robert. n.d. Robert Johnson, PhD. Accessed April 10, 2013. http://www.gallaudet.edu/faculty-staff/linguistics/johnson_robert_e.html

Johnson, Robert. n.d. Robert Johnson, PhD. Accessed April 10, 2013. http://www.mendeley.com/profiles/robert-johnson2/

Related Materials:

The Human Studies Film Archives holds Robert E. Johnson's Mayan sign language video tapes and related notebooks.

Provenance:

These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Robert E. Johnson upon his retirement from Gallaudet University in 2011.

Restrictions:

No restrictions on access.

Rights:

Contact repository for terms of use.

Topic:

Language and languages -- Documentation  Search this

Makah language  Search this

Coeur d'Alene language  Search this

Genre/Form:

Field notes

Sound recordings

Citation:

Robert E. Johnson papers on the Coeur d'Alene and Makah languages, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Digitization and preparation of most of this material for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund and by National Science Foundation under BCS Grant No. 1561167 and the Recovering Voices initiative at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Identifier:

NAA.2011-34

See more items in:

Robert E. Johnson Papers on the Coeur d'Alene and Makah Languages

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-2011-34

Creator:

De Forest, Roy, 1930-2007  Search this

Names:

Dilexi Gallery  Search this

Loujon Press  Search this

Nixon, Bruce  Search this

Strohl, Audrey  Search this

Uccello, Paolo, 1397-1475  Search this

Zack, David, 1938-  Search this

Extent:

11.2 Linear feet

111.86 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Drawings

Interviews

Sketchbooks

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Date:

1916-2015

bulk 1948-2007

Summary:

The papers of artist Roy De Forest measure 11.2 linear feet and 111.86 gigabytes and date from 1916 to 2015, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1948 to 2007. The collection documents De Forest's painting career and involvement in the funk art movement through biographical material, correspondence, writings, professional records, printed material, photographic material, artwork, digital audio and video recordings, and artifacts.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of artist Roy De Forest measure 11.2 linear feet and 111.86 gigabytes and date from 1916 to 2015, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1948 to 2007. The collection includes documents De Forest's painting career and involvement in the funk art movement through biographical material, correspondence, writings, professional records, printed material, photographic material, artwork, digital audio and video recordings, and artifacts.

Biographical material includes early school materials, resumes, a recording of an interview, membership materials, identification documents, certificates and awards, and family history and genealogy material. Also included in this series are obituaries, letters of condolence, and materials, including born-digital photographs and recordings, related to memorial services celebrating De Forest's life and work.

Correspondence includes letters and postcards to and from family, friends, colleagues, and arts institutions. This series also includes a few folders of greeting cards.

The writings series contains essays, lectures, exhibition texts, notes, and other materials written by Roy De Forest, including an essay, The Vision of Paolo Uccello, and his famous "dog lecture." Also included are writings by others, such as a student dissertations on Roy De Forest, essays by Bruce Nixon, and poetry and an essay by David Zack.

Professional records include materials related to a book of memories (never published) organized by Dilexi Gallery and the Loujon Press, exhibition planning documents, an exhibition recording, materials related to the James Talcott Inc. Computer Arts program, and materials related to print documentation.

Financial records contain inventory and stock files; sales and consignment records; receipts and invoices; tax, estate, and insurance paperwork; and account books and ledgers.

Printed material includes exhibition announcements, catalogs, and posters; material related to other projects; blank cards with Roy De Forest art; clippings; press releases; newsletters and journals; books; and source material.

Photographic material includes digital and print photographs, negatives, transparencies, and slides of Roy De Forest and other individuals, as well as travel photos, images of his pets (primarily dogs), and images of his studio and works of art.

Artwork includes drawings by De Forest and others, as well as four sketchbooks.

The artifacts series contains a tote bag, t-shirt, and a puzzle, all featuring Roy De Forest artwork. Also included in the series is a patterned shirt and an "art critic" baseball cap.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in nine series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1930-2008 (Boxes 1-2, OV 12, RD 17, ER01-ER03; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1948-2014 (Boxes 2-3; 1 linear foot)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1952-2005 (Box 3, OV 12, ER04; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 4: Professional Records, 1968-circa 2007, 2014 (Box 3, OV 12; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 5: Financial Records, 1963-circa 2014 (Boxes 3-5; 1.4 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material: 1916-1936, 1951-2007 (Boxes 5-7, OV 13-14, ER05-ER07; 2.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Photographic Material: 1926, circa 1943-2007 (Boxes 7-9, OV 15, ER08-ER12; 2 linear feet)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1947-circa 2007 (Boxes 9-10, OV 16; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 9: Artifacts, circa 2007-circa 2009 (Box 11; 1 linear foot)

Biographical / Historical:

Roy De Forest (1930-2007) was a painter, sculptor, and educator in Port Costa, California. A notable figure in the funk art movement, he coined the term "nut art" to describe art that embraced humor and created a fantasy world.

Born in North Platte, Nebraska, Roy De Forest grew up in Yakima, Washington where he attended Yakima Junior College and graduated in 1950. He went on to study at the California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute) and San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University). He taught at Yakima Junior College from 1958 to 1960 after graduating from San Francisco State College, and later taught at the University of California, Davis from 1965 until his retirement as professor emeritus in 1992.

De Forest's first solo exhibition was in 1955 at the East & West Gallery in San Francisco. From then until his death in 2007, he exhibited frequently, especially at the Allan Frumkin Gallery in New York and the Hansen Fuller Gallery in San Francisco.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Roy De Forest conducted by Lynn Robert Matteson, April 7-June 30, 2004.

Provenance:

The Roy De Forest papers were donated in several installments from 1974 to 2019. Some materials were loaned for microfilming in 1974 and subsequently donated in 1977 and 1979 by Roy De Forest. Additional materials were donated in 2009, 2016 and 2019 by Gloria Marchant, Roy De Forest's widow.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.

Occupation:

Painters -- California  Search this

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California  Search this

Educators -- California  Search this

Sculptors -- California  Search this

Funk  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Interviews

Sketchbooks

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Citation:

Roy De Forest papers, 1916-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by Gloria Marchant.

Identifier:

AAA.deforoy

See more items in:

Roy De Forest papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-deforoy

Creator:

Perls Galleries  Search this

Names:

Art Institute of Chicago  Search this

Fujikawa Gallery  Search this

Galerie Maeght  Search this

James Corcoran Gallery  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

National Gallery of Art (U.S.)  Search this

Pierre Matisse Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this

Austin, Darrel, 1907-  Search this

Cafritz, Gwendolyn  Search this

Cafritz, Morris, 1886?-1964  Search this

Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976  Search this

Canaday, John, 1907-1985  Search this

De Menil, Adelaide  Search this

Dudensing, F. Valentine, 1892-1967  Search this

Ford, Henry, 1917-1987  Search this

Garbo, Greta, 1905-1990  Search this

Hitchcock, Alfred, 1899-  Search this

Luce, Claire  Search this

Luce, Henry, III, 1925-2005  Search this

Miró, Joan, 1893-  Search this

Perls, Klaus  Search this

Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this

Priebe, Karl J., 1914-1976  Search this

Streisand, Barbra  Search this

Extent:

79.6 Linear feet

79.6 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Illustrated letters

Drawings

Photographs

Date:

1937-1997

1937-1997

Summary:

The records of the Perls Galleries measure 79.6 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1997. Founded by Klaus Perls in 1937 and operating until 1997, the gallery dealt primarily in modern French art and the artwork of Alexander Calder. Found within the records are extensive correspondence (circa 44 linear feet) with artists, dealers, galleries, museums, and collectors; photographs and negatives of inventory and other artwork; exhibition files, scattered financial records; and exhibition catalogs and clippings.

Scope and Content Note:

The records of the Perls Galleries measure 79.6 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1997. Founded by Klaus Perls in 1937 and operating until 1997, the gallery dealt primarily in modern French art and the artwork of Alexander Calder. Found within the records are extensive correspondence (circa 44 linear feet) with artists, dealers, galleries, museums, and collectors; photographs and negatives of inventory and other artwork; exhibition files, scattered financial records; and exhibition catalogs and clippings.

Correspondence primarily discusses sales (and includes invoices), loans, and exhibitions, as well as more routine activities such as gallery maintenance, the printing of exhibition catalogs and letterhead, and the shipment, framing, or restoration of artwork. Many letters enclose photographs, negatives, or slides of artwork, and clippings. A few letters contain oversize architectural or engineering drawings, and a small handful of letters are illustrated.

Correspondents include artists such as Darrell Austin, Joan Mir, Pablo Picasso, and Karl Priebe; galleries such as the Corcoran Gallery, Fujikawa Galleries, Galerie Maeght, and the Pierre Matisse Gallery; museums such as the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the Whitney Museum of Modern Art; collectors such as Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz, Adelaide de Mnil, Valentine Dudensing, and Henry Ford, II; and celebrity clients such as Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock, Henry and Clare Booth Luce, and Barbra Streisand.

The records contain nearly thirty-two linear feet of photographs and negatives. Photographs are of artists and the inventory of the gallery's artwork. Additional photographs represent artwork either by artists not represented by the gallery or not included in the gallery's inventory. Most of the photographs are black and white. Over fifteen linear feet of negatives are of gallery stock. Photographs are also found in the exhibition files.

There is a relatively small amount of records relating to exhibitions, loans, and sales. Found are exhibition lists, schedules, invitations and announcements, photographs of exhibition installations, press releases, and records of loans to other institutions and galleries. Sales records include artist lists, inventory lists, invoices, pick up and delivery receipts, and price lists.

Printed materials include a large number of clippings and an incomplete run of catalogs from Perls Galleries exhibitions between 1939 and 1980.

The collection also includes ten original pencil drawings from John Canaday's series entitled My Beautiful Girls and a reproduction of eight drawings from the same series

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 7 series:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1937-1995 (Boxes 1-44, OV 81-83; 43.6 linear feet)

Series 2: Negatives, circa 1937-1995 (Boxes 44-59; 15.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Photographs, circa 1937-1995 (Boxes 60-75, OV 84; 16.1 linear feet)

Series 4: Exhibition, Loan, and Sales Records, 1937-1995 (Boxes 76-78; 2.1 linear feet)

Series 5: Clippings Files, 1943-1989 (Box 78; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Exhibition Catalogs, 1939-1980 (Boxes 78-79; 1.4 linear feet)

Series 7: Drawings by John Canaday, circa 1967-1972 (Box 80; 0.3 linear feet)

Historical Note:

Klaus Perls (b. 1912, d. 2008) formally opened Perls Galleries in New York in 1937, and ran it with his wife Amelia until its closing in 1997. The gallery dealt in contemporary French artists of the School of Paris, such as Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, but also acted as the primary representative of Alexander Calder beginning in 1954. In the 1970s Mr. Perls developed an interest in art from Benin and built an important collection of African sculpture, some of which was later donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Amelia Perls died in 2002, and Klaus Perls died in 2008.

Klaus Perls was born in 1912 in Berlin in a house Mies van der Rohe designed for his parents, who owned an art gallery specializing in Impressionists, post-Impressionists, Old Master paintings, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and African sculpture. Perls studied Art History in Hamburg and Munich but completed his PhD in Basel, Switzerland in 1933 after the Nazi government stopped awarding degrees to Jews. His dissertation covered the complete works of 15th-century French painter Jean Fouquet.

Before moving to New York in 1935, Perls worked for his mother, Kaethe Perls, in her Paris gallery that she opened in 1932 after splitting up with Klaus' father Hugo. He spent his first two years in New York selling paintings through other art dealers, primarily paintings shipped or recommended to him by his mother from Paris that were not selling well in the Depression-era French art market. These were primarily the work of Maurice Utrillo, Marie Laurencin, Raoul Dufy and Maurice de Vlaminck. In 1937 he formally established his own gallery, the Perls Galleries, on East 58th Street and continued to specialize in French and European contemporary art. Around the same time, his older brother Frank opened a gallery in Beverly Hills, California.

Klaus Perls was familiar with other New York dealers specializing in modern European art such as Valentine Dudensing and Pierre Matisse, but he tried to distinguish himself by catering to young collectors. When the war restricted the international art trade and his mother was forced to flee France during the Occupation, Perls began dealing in contemporary American artists such as Darrel Austin and Karl Priebe.

Perls married Amelia Blumenthal, fondly known as "Dolly," in 1940, and she became his business partner.

After the war, the international art market exploded, and the Perls made frequent buying trips to Europe. The Perls Galleries continued to sell primarily contemporary French art and gained an early reputation as a staunch defender of modern art by European artists such as Picasso, Modigliani, Braque, Lger, Soutine and Pascin. Perls prepared catalogues raisonns on Soutine and Pascin.

Klaus Perls was one of the founding members of the Art Dealer's Association, whose initial mission was to clean up the reputation of the art market following a series scandals involving fake antiquities that flourished in the 1960's. Perls was the Association's second president, after Pierre Matisse.

In 1954 Perls Galleries moved to 1016 Madison Avenue, a building that served as both gallery and home for the Perls. The same year Perls became Alexander Calder's dealer after the death of Calder's previous dealer, Curt Valentin. Perls explained his inclusion of Calder, a rare American among his stable of European artists, by saying that Calder's roots lay in France and that Calder bridged Europe and America the way Perls felt he did himself. In 1970, Calder designed the terrazzo sidewalk in front of the gallery and often resided in the Perls' home during long visits to New York City. Perls Galleries later handled Calder's estate and functioned as a quasi-archives of Calder's works, holding more than 7,000 negatives depicting Calder's art and preparing a Calder catalogue raisonn.

Klaus was named as a third-party defendant in the 1969 World War II looted art case Menzel v. List. When Erna Menzel sued Albert List for ownership of a Chagall painting confiscated from Menzel by the Nazis, List in turn sued Perls, who had sold him the painting in 1955, having purchased it himself from a Paris art dealer. The court awarded the Chagall painting to Menzel and ordered Perls to pay List the appreciated value of the painting.

Perls began building an important collection of African artwork and fell in love with art from Benin in the 1970's. In 1991 he donated more than 150 pieces of royal art from Benin to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Perls closed their gallery in 1997; Amelia Perls died in 2002, and Klaus Perls died in 2008.

Related Material:

Among the resources relating to the Perls Galleries in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Klaus Perls done by Mona Hadler on January 19, 1993.

Provenance:

The records were donated in 1997 by Douglas Mayhew, associate and legal representive of Klaus G. and Amelia B. Perls.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Rights:

The Perls Galleries records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

Art, Modern  Search this

Genre/Form:

Illustrated letters

Drawings

Photographs

Citation:

Perls Galleries records, 1937-1997. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.perlgall

See more items in:

Perls Galleries records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-perlgall

Author:

Edwards, Susan H  Search this

Subject:

Shahn, Ben 1898-1969 Criticism and interpretation  Search this

United States Farm Security Administration Rural Rehabilitation Division  Search this

Physical description:

xviii, 364 leaves : ill

Type:

Manuscripts

Pictorial works

Place:

United States

Southern States

Date:

1996

1929

1865-1945

Topic:

Documentary photography  Search this

Depressions  Search this

Social conditions  Search this

Rural conditions  Search this

Pictorial works  Search this

Call number:

TR647.S519 E39 1996a

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_502459

Author:

Vrydagh, P. André  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Type:

Articles

Date:

1990

Topic:

Makishi  Search this

Mbunda masquerades  Search this

Masks, Mbunda  Search this

Hunters in art  Search this

Mbunda (Angolan and Zambian people)--Hunting  Search this

Call number:

N7380 .D295 1990

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_543811

Creator:

Naff, Alixa, 1919-2013  Search this

Names:

Naff, Faris  Search this

Naff, Yamna  Search this

Extent:

120 Cubic feet (295 boxes )

2,000 Photographs

450 Cassette tapes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Cassette tapes

Date:

1875 - 2004

Summary:

The collection is the result of research conducted by Dr. Alixa Naff relating to the study of the early Arab immigrant experience in the United States from about 1880-World War II. The study began with oral history interviews in 1962 and became a major project in 1980 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It documents the assimilation of Arabic speaking immigrants in the United States.

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents the immigration and assimilation of mostly Christian Syrian-Lebanese who came to America at the turn of the twentieth century. The immigrants were predominately-small land-owning peasants and artisans from the village of Syria and Lebanon. According to Alixa Naff, immigrants knew exactly where they were going to live and what they were going to do once they immigrated to America. They mostly chose to live in cities where earlier immigrants had already created communities. The majority of the immigrants became peddlers. Peddlers carried packs containing scissors, razors, pins, buttons, ribbons, threads, needles, combs, mirrors, soap, voile and muslin, lace and crotchet crafts, perfume, scarves, picture frames, oriental rugs, fine linens, leather goods, pictures of saints, religious notions from the holy land, confections and cakes. Peddling offered the immigrants a source of income and a way to learn the English language, American customs and lifestyles. It often led to ownership of a small dry goods store. More successful businesspersons then went on to own a department store or a chain of stores. For those Syrian/Lebanese who chose not to pursue peddling as a source of income other occupations included farming, work in New England textile mills, Midwestern factories, Pittsburgh and Birmingham steel mills and Detroit's automobile assembly lines.

It was in these Syrian communities created by Arab immigrants that Dr. Naff sought interviews, photographs and personal papers. For Alixa Naff this pioneering generation of people offered a wealth of information on the immigrant experience and the critical role that peddling played. Naff conducted interviews in urban and small town communities with an emphasis on Midwestern states. Her informants included first and second generation Christians, Druze and Muslims. Locations of interviews included Detroit, Michigan because it was an industrial city with a large and stable Syrian population of all faiths. Cedar Rapids, Iowa was smaller, a railroad depot at the turn of the century and home to the earliest Muslim groups. Peoria, Illinois was also a small, railroad depot at the turn of the century and it consisted predominately of the Maronite Sect originally from one village in Mount Lebanon. Spring Valley, Illinois was a small mining town with a Christian community and the remnant of a once flourishing peddling settlement. Their Eastern Rite Syrian Orthodox Church was the only one in Illinois until 1961 and served smaller Syrian groups.

Oral history interviews deal with the sociological factors of the assimilation process. Most tapes have been fully transcribed or abstracted. Information from the interviews are supported with published articles; demographic statistics; articles from the Arab-American press, books, journals and dissertations published in the United States or in Arab countries. Personal papers collected from individuals and families provide evidence of the experiences discussed in the interviews and add a personal touch to the reference materials. While there are a number of original items included among the personal papers, there is a substantial amount of duplicate materials. Naff would often collect the originals make copies and then return the originals to the donors.

Arrangement:

[Alixa Naff arranged the collection materials and the Archives Center staff maintained this arrangement due to the size of the collection. Materials are arranged mostly by subject and type.]

The collection is arranged into eight series:

Series 1: Personal Papers

Subseries 1.1: Individuals

Subseries 1.2: Organizations

Series 2: Photographs

Series 3: Oral interviews, Abstracts, Transcripts and Supporting Materials, 1962-1995

Subseries 3.1: Abstracts and Transcripts

Subseries 3.2: By Topic

Subseries3.3: Other Projects

Series 4: Publications

Series 5: Subject Files

Series 6: Project Files

Series 7: Alixa Naff Personal Papers

Series 8: Audio Visual Materials

Biographical / Historical:

The Faris and Yamna Naff Collection is the result of the dedication and research efforts of Dr. Alixa Naff, the daughter of Syrian-Lebanese immigrants. She has spent most of her life documenting the early American experience of the generation of Arabs, mostly Christian, from Syria/Lebanon who came to this country around the turn of the century.

After an administrative career in private industry, Alixa Naff enrolled at the University of California to obtain her B.A. degree. During her senior year, she was required to write a paper for an American history seminar. The topic for the seminar was immigration. Alixa Naff chose Arabs in America as her subject. According to Naff, there was a lack of reference materials relating to her topic. Therefore, she relied mostly on conversations with her parents' friends. Impressed by her work, Alixa Naff's professor offered her a grant to collect Arab folklore.

Alixa Naff conducted her research during the summer of 1962. She interviewed eighty-seven people in sixteen communities across the United States and eastern Canada. All of her informants were at least sixty years old at the time of the interviews and represented the last surviving members of her parents' pioneer immigrant generation. After completing her fieldwork, Naff went on to earn her master's and Ph.D. degrees. She taught on the college level at California State University and the University of Colorado. In 1977, she left teaching citing anti-Arab feelings as the reason for her shift in career paths. Her desire to counter the anti-Arab stereotyping with accurate sources of information created yet another opportunity for her to pursue more research about Arab Americans.

Later in 1977, Alixa Naff served as a consultant on a documentary film relating to Arabs in America. She again realized existed on the subject of the Arab immigrant experience in America. Moreover, much of what she found conflicted with what pioneer informants had told her. Naff was also painfully aware that family members of decreased Arab immigrants often discarded the early artifacts, personal papers, photographs and books brought to America. Shortly after, she began working on a study on the history of Arab immigrants. In 1979, Alixa Naff met Gino Baroni, then undersecretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and founder of the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs. His center helped her secure funding for her research from the National Endowment for the Humanities and provided an office for her to work. The result of this work was a book entitled Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience published in 1985. Richard Ahlborn, then curator of the Smithsonian's Community Life Division (now its Department of Cultural Affairs), convinced Naff to donate the collection to the Smithsonian in honor of her parents, Faris and Yamna Naff, and their generation of Arabs who immigrated to America.

Alixa Naff died on June 1, 2013 at the age of 93.

Related Materials:

Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Home and Community Life holds artifacts related to this collection including. See Accession #: 2007.3245.

Materials at the Smithsonian Institution

Photo Lot 2011-02, Alixa Naff photographs of Europe, the Middle East and the Mediterranean and audio tapes on Mediterranean folklore, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Provenance:

The collection is the result of research conducted by Dr. Alixa Naff relating to the study of the early Arab immigrant experience in the United States from about 1880-World War II. The study began with oral history interviews in 1962 and became a major project in 1980 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must use microfilm copies. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.

Viewing film portions of collection require special appointment; please inquire with a reference archivist. Do not use when original materials are available on reference video or audio tapes.

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.

Citation:

Faris and Yamna Naff Arab-American Collection Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0078

See more items in:

Faris and Yamna Naff Arab American Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0078

Interviewee:

Sims, Lowery Stokes, 1949-  Search this

Interviewer:

Richards, Judith Olch, 1947-  Search this

Subject:

Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

African American art museum curators  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)15846

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)292616

AAA_collcode_sims10

Theme:

African American

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_292616

Creator:

Caples, John, 1900-1990 (advertising executive)  Search this

Caples, Dorothy  Search this

Names:

Batten, Barton, Durstine, and Osborn  Search this

Extent:

24 Cubic feet (64 boxes )

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Business letters

Awards

Essays

Diaries

Tear sheets

Typescripts

Place:

New York (N.Y.)

Date:

circa 1900-1987

Scope and Contents:

Series Three, Speeches and Lectures, contains Caples' speeches to advertising industry associations and other business organizations, as well as a series of lectures prepared for a college course on advertising techniques that Caples taught at Columbia University Graduate School of Business during the 1953-54 academic year..

Series Four, Client Files, contains correspondence, advertising copy, press clippings, memos, tearsheets, and other business records for scores of clients for whom Caples did work; Readers Digest and the Wall Street Journal are especially well represented. Files are arranged alphabetically by client name.

Subseries A contains client files from Caples' years at Ruthrauff & Ryan (1925-1927).

Subseries B contains client files from Caples' years at BBDO (circa 1946-1972).

Subseries C contains files documenting copy testing and direct mail methods and results. Some of the copy-testing materials are in poster-sized format presumably designed for presentation. Several sets of lantern slides illustrating copy-testing results are also included. Series 5, Business Files, includes BBDO files and correspondence from the 1930s through the 1980s. This series includes many of BBDO's internal manuals and instructions on copy-testing and direct mail, many authored by Caples. This series also contains notes, clipping files, and "tickler" or idea files, mostly from the period of Caple's retirement. Also found here are Caples' many awards and honors from advertising and direct marketing organizations.

Series 1: Personal Papers, is divided into three subseries.

Subseries 1.1 contains Caples' diaries in original, unedited manuscript form. The diaries are arranged chronologically. They constitute a notable resource for the study of the advertising industry from an insider's perspective during a period of tremendous expansion of advertising as a force in American business and culture. They document Caple's participation in and reflections on the business of advertising, and detail his acquaintance with noted business and advertising professionals. The diaries record his responses to the major events of his lifetime, such as presidential elections, the stock market crash of 1929, American entry into World War II, the Kennedy assassinations, and the moon landing. Caples recorded conversations and contacts with some of the key advertising and communications people of his time, including Rosser Reeves, David Ogilvy, George Gallup and Harry Reasoner. Also found in the diaries are reflections of a more mundane or personal nature: weather conditions, the best restaurants, whether to quit drinking or go on a diet, and Caples= ambivalence about retiring from BBDO. Caples wrote precisely one page each day from 1928 through 1981. Missing from the series are the years 1935-1940, 1946-1950; 1952-1955; 1957-1962.

Subseries 1.2 contains edited, rewritten portions of the diaries, presumably intended for publication as short-stories or reminiscences. Of particular interest are humorous short stories relating to Caples' years at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD during the early 1920s.

Subseries 1.3 contains photographs of Caples and his family, ca. 1900-1960.

Subseries 1.4 contains personal and family papers, including material documenting Caple's service as a recruitment and enlistment officer for the U.S. Navy during World War II, and a copy of a dissertation about Caples by Gordon White, entitled John Caples, Adman.

Series 2: Publications, contains Caple's published and unpublished manuscripts about advertising techniques, direct marketing, and the advertising industry. Arrangement is according to publication and thereunder by date of publication. This series is arranged into two subseries.

Subseries 2.1 contains articles published in advertising industry publications such as Advertising Agency, Advertising and Selling, Direct Marketing, and Printer's Ink, and for business publications like Saturday Review. The articles typically are of a how-to nature, but also include Caples observations about the business of advertising, including a series for Advertising Agency in the 1950s, titled "Diary of an Ad Man," which drew heavily from his diaries.

Subseries 2.2 contains book manuscripts. Caples was a prolific and respected author in his field, publishing four widely acclaimed books on advertising and direct marketing techniques. Material in this series includes rough and final drafts, illustrative material, and correspondence with editors and publishers. There are also letters of congratulation from friends and letters of praise from readers.

Series 3: Speeches and Lectures, contains Caples' speeches to advertising industry associations and other business organizations, as well as a series of lectures prepared for a college course on advertising techniques that Caples taught at Columbia University Graduate School of Business during the 1953-54 academic year..Series 4: Client Files, contains correspondence, advertising copy, press clippings, memos, tearsheets, and other business records for scores of clients for whom Caples did work; Readers Digest and the Wall Street Journal are especially well represented. Files are arranged alphabetically by client name.

Subseries 4.1 contains client files from Caples' years at Ruthrauff & Ryan (1925-1927).

Subseries 4.2 contains client files from Caples' years at BBDO (ca. 1946-1972).

Subseries 4.3 contains files documenting copy testing and direct mail methods and results. Some of the copy-testing materials are in poster-sized format presumably designed for presentation. Several sets of lantern slides illustrating copy-testing results are also included.

Series 5: Business Files, includes BBDO files and correspondence from the 1930s through the 1980s. This series includes many of BBDO's internal manuals and instructions on copy-testing and direct mail, many authored by Caples. This series also contains notes, clipping files, and "tickler" or idea files, mostly from the period of Caple's retirement. Also found here are Caples' many awards and honors from advertising and direct marketing organizations.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into five series.

Series 1: Personal Papers

Series 2: Publications

Series 3: Speeches and Lectures

Series 4: Client Files

Series 5: Business Files

Biographical / Historical:

John Caples (1900-1990) was one of advertising's most influential copywriters. He grew up in New York City, the eldest of two sons of Byron Caples, a doctor, and Edith Richards Caples, a grandniece of W.W. Cole, P.T. Barnum's partner.

After graduation from the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Caples began his advertising career at Ruthrauff & Ryan in 1925, during the decade in which advertising began to assume its modern form, both in style and organizational structure. His first year there, he wrote a legendary mail-order advertisement for the U.S. School of Music. This advertisement, more than a thousand words long, embodied many of the techniques which Caples was later to develop, and is still regarded within the industry as one of the most effective pieces of advertising copy ever written. It began with the straightforward but emotionally insightful headline: "They laughed when I sat down at the piano." The headline became a part of American popular culture, appearing in ads, comics, cartoons, and greeting cards into the 1990s.

In 1927, Caples moved to Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne (BBDO), where he had the opportunity to work alongside Bruce Barton, an advertising legend and pioneer of direct mail. Caples remained at BBDO for 55 years, during which time he reshaped the field of direct response advertising. At BBDO he supervised direct response advertising for DuPont, U..S. Steel, General Electric, United Fruit, Hormel, the Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest, Phoenix Mutual, Liberty Mutual, Western Airlines, U.S. Navy Recruiting, and many other clients. In his honor, the Direct Marketing Creative Guild established the John Caples Award to recognize creative excellence in direct marketing.

Caples was also respected for the development of innovative copy-testing techniques. He was the author of countless articles and several well-respected books, including Tested Advertising Methods (1932), Advertising for Immediate Sales (1936), Making Ads Pay (1957) and How To Make Your Advertising Make Money (1983). He also served as a recruitment and enlistment officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II. John Caples retired from BBDO in 1981. He died after a long convalescence in 1990.

Related Materials:

As part of the collection, the Archives Center accepted 22 books on advertising, including copies of Caples' books, some in foreign languages. These books are housed in the Archives Center.

Provenance:

The collection was donated in December 1990 by Caples' widow, Mrs. Dorothy Dickes Caples, of New York City.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Rights:

Reproduction fees for commercial use. Copyright restrictions. Contact staff for information.

Topic:

Advertising copy  Search this

advertising  Search this

Advertising, Direct-mail  Search this

Advertising executives  Search this

Copy writers  Search this

Direct marketing  Search this

Genre/Form:

Business letters

Awards

Essays

Diaries -- 20th century

Tear sheets

Typescripts

Citation:

John Caples Papers, 1900-1987, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0393

See more items in:

John Caples Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0393

Creator:

Sturtevant, William C.  Search this

Names:

National Museum of Natural History (U.S.)  Search this

Six Nations  Search this

Extent:

220 Linear feet (The total extent of the collection is 191.41 linear feet (consisting of 473 document boxes and 2 record boxes) plus 254 sound recordings, 94 computer disks, 42 card file boxes, 85 oversize folders, 9 rolled items, 18 binder boxes, and 3 oversize boxes. Of the total extent, 4.79 linear feet (14 boxes) are restricted.)

Culture:

Indians of North America -- Southeast  Search this

Indians of North America -- Northeast  Search this

Indians of North America  Search this

Iroquois  Search this

Seminole  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Realia

Research

Notes

Office files

Theses

Slides (photographs)

Sound recordings

Exhibition catalogs

Field notes

Clippings

Correspondence

Photographs

Microfilms

Newsletters

Manuscripts

Memorandums

Articles

Card files

Books

Artifacts

Negatives

Date:

1952-2007

Summary:

This collection contains the professional papers of William Curtis Sturtevant and documents his activities as Curator of North American Ethnology at the National Museum of Natural History, his work as the editor-in-chief of the Handbook of North American Indians, his research among the Seminole and Iroquois people, and other professional activities. The collection is comprised of books, sound recordings, research and field notes, realia, artifacts, clippings, microfilm, negatives, slides, photographs, manuscripts, correspondence, memorandums, card files, exhibition catalogs, articles, and bibliographies.

Scope and Contents:

This collection contains the professional papers of William Curtis Sturtevant and documents his activities as Curator of North American Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, his work as the editor-in-chief of the Handbook of North American Indians, his research among the Seminole and Iroquois people, and his involvement in various professional activities. The collection is comprised of research and field notes, sound recordings, realia, clippings, negatives, slides, prints, published and unpublished writings, correspondence, memorandums, conference papers and meeting notes, card files, exhibition catalogs, articles, bibliographies, student files such as class notes and papers from Sturtevant's years as an anthropology student, teaching materials including lecture notes and exams, daily planners, passports, military records, artwork including prints and lithographs, maps, and computer files.

The materials in this collection document Sturtevant's career as a preeminent North American ethnologist, museum curator, university professor, his role as General Editor of the Handbook of North American Indians, and his contributions to the field of Anthropology. From his early work with the Seminole Indians of Florida to his forays into Burma, and his decades-long study of how Native Americans have been depicted in artistic and popular culture, Sturtevant's diverse intellectual interests are represented in his research files. A copious note taker, Sturtevant captured his observations and opinions of everything from meetings with colleagues to museum exhibits. Sturtevant's commitment to the anthropological profession can be found in the notes and programs of the many conferences, symposiums, and lecture series he attended and at which he presented. He also held numerous leadership positions in various professional associations and sat on the board of directors/trustees for several cultural organizations including Survival International and the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation. Sturtevant was respected for his vast knowledge of indigenous peoples and he received a voluminous amount of correspondence from colleagues who often included copies of their papers and grant proposals. He kept many of these works, which, it appears he used as reference material. Sturtevant's own work is reflected in his writings; he published over 200 scholarly papers, articles, and books.

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.

Arrangement:

This collection is organized in 14 series: 1. Correspondence, 1951-2008; 2. Research Files, 1851, 1860s, 1880s, 1890, 1939-2006; 3. Writings, 1952-2006; 4. Professional Activities, 1952-2006; 5. Smithsonian, 1954-2008; 6. Handbook of North American Indians, 1971-2007; 7. Biographical Files, 1933-2007; 8. Student Files, 1944-1985; 9. Subject Files, 1902-2002; 10. Photographs, 1927-2004; 11. Artwork, 1699-1998; 12. Maps, 1949-1975; 13. Sound Recordings, 1950-2000; 14. Computer Files, 1987-2006.

Biographical/Historical note:

William C. Sturtevant (1926-2007), preeminent North American ethnologist, museum curator, and university professor, was best known for his contributions to Seminole ethnology, as curator of North American Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, and for his work as the general editor of the Handbook of North American Indians.

Sturtevant's passion for studying Native peoples began at a young age. In third grade "after a class on American Indians, he asked his father what kind of people study Indians, and his father replied, 'Anthropologists.' Sturtevant decided then that he would make anthropology his career" (Merrill 11). After graduating with honors from the University of California at Berkeley in 1949, Sturtevant went on to Yale University to complete his graduate work in anthropology. When it came time to decide on what area of North America he should focus his research, one of his faculty members at Yale, Irving Rouse, "suggested he consider the Seminoles of south Florida. By the end of his first fieldwork season, Sturtevant was convinced that the dearth of ethnographic information about these Seminoles and their status as one of the least acculturated of all North American Indian societies justified ethnographic research among them and offered the possibility of making an important contribution to North American ethnology" (Merrill 13). Sturtevant spent the summers of 1950 and 1951 conducting preliminary fieldwork among the Mikasuki-speaking Seminole and in 1952 he took up temporary residence at Big Cypress Reservation to undertake research for his dissertation, "The Mikasuki Seminole: Medical Beliefs and Practices." This work focused on Seminole medicine, but also included Sturtevant's analysis of Seminole worldview, religion, history, inter-ethnic relations, material culture, economy, kinship, language, and social organization.

In 1954, while he was finishing his dissertation, Sturtevant made the transition from student of anthropology to professional anthropologist. He was hired as an instructor in Yale's Anthropology Department and began his career in museum work as an assistant curator of anthropology at the Yale Peabody Museum. After receiving his PhD from Yale in 1955, Sturtevant moved on to the Smithsonian Institution, where he accepted a position as a research anthropologist at the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE). This position afforded Sturtevant the chance to continue to explore his many research interests in ways that a full time professorship or museum curatorship could not. Over the next ten years he studied the Catawba in South Carolina; the Seneca and Cayuga nations of the Iroquois League in New York, Oklahoma, and Ontario; continued his work with the Seminole; visited European museums to examine early ethnographic examples and possible European prototypes of eastern North American Indian material culture; and spent a year in Burma. In 1963, Sturtevant and his wife, Theda Maw, the daughter of a prominent Burmese family, took their three young children to Burma so that they could visit with Maw's family. Sturtevant took this as an opportunity to branch out from his Native American research and spent the year visiting neighborhoods in Rangoon and villages in the surrounding countryside, examining archival materials, studying the Burmese language, learning about Burmese clothing and other aspects of the culture, and taking photographs. He also collected 386 items of clothing and other objects for the Smithsonian.

When Sturtevant returned from Burma, he found the BAE had been dissolved. In 1965, he was transferred from the now-defunct BAE to the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), where he became curator of North American Ethnology, a position he held for the next forty-two years. During his tenure at NMNH Sturtevant oversaw all the North American ethnology collections, planned exhibitions, served on committees, and sponsored interns and fellows. One of Sturtevant's primary duties at NMNH was serving as the General Editor of the Handbook of North American Indians, "a major multi-volume reference work summarizing anthropological, linguistic, and historical knowledge about native peoples north of Mexico" (Jackson). Each volume was designed to represent a geographic or topical area of Americanist study. As General Editor, Sturtevant selected volume editors, chapter authors, oversaw office staff, and proofread manuscripts over the course of production.

Besides focusing on the Handbook, much of Sturtevant's time was taken up by responsibilities he held outside the Institution. Sturtevant was extremely involved in professional anthropological associations and held many leadership positions. Fresh out of graduate school, he began a three-year term on the Board of Governors of the Anthropological Society of Washington in 1957. He later became a member of the executive committee of the Florida Anthropological Society, served as book-review editor and associate editor of the American Anthropologist from 1962-1968, was a member of the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Anthropological Research in Museums and was both vice president and president of the committee once it became the Council for Museum Anthropology, was on the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Archives, served three terms on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation from 1976-1982 and was appointed to a fourth term between 1984 and 1986, and sat on the Board of Directors of Survival International from 1982-1988. He was President of the American Society for Ethnohistory, the American Ethnological Society, the American Anthropological Association, and the Anthropological Society of Washington. Sturtevant also taught classes at Johns Hopkins University as an adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology, served as a consultant on exhibits at other museums, and reviewed manuscripts for scholarly publications.

Sturtevant remained active in the profession throughout his later years. After divorcing Theda Maw in 1986, he married Sally McLendon, a fellow anthropologist, in 1990 and they undertook several research projects together. Sturtevant was recognized for his dedication and contributions to the field of anthropology in 1996 when he was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Brown University, and in 2002 when his colleagues published a festschrift in his honor, Anthropology, History, and American Indians: Essays in Honor of William Curtis Sturtevant.

Sturtevant died on March 2, 2007 at the Collingswood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rockville, MD after suffering from emphysema.

Sources Consulted

Estrada, Louie. 2007. William C. Sturtevant; Expert on Indians. Washington Post, March 17. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031602273.html, accessed August 31, 2012.

Jackson, Jason Baird. 2007. William C. Sturtevant (1926-2007). http://museumanthropology.blogspot.com/2007/03/william-c-sturtevant-1926-2007.html, accessed August 31, 2012.

Merrill, William L. 2002. William Curtis Sturtevant, Anthropologist. In Anthropology, History, and American Indians: Essays in Honor of William Curtis Sturtevant. William L. Merrill and Ives Goddard, eds. Pp. 11-36. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

1926 -- Born July 26 in Morristown, NJ

1944 -- Entered the University of California at Berkeley as a second-semester freshman

1944 -- Attended summer school at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Mexico City where he took courses on Mexican archaeology and South American ethnology

1945 -- Drafted into the United States Navy

1946 -- Received an honorable discharge from the Navy with the rank of pharmacist's mate third class and returned to UC Berkeley

1947 -- Attended the University of New Mexico's summer field school in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

1949 -- January: Received his Bachelor's degree with honors in anthropology from UC Berkeley

1949 -- Began graduate studies at Yale University

1950-1951 -- Spent the summers of 1950 and 1951 in Florida conducting fieldwork among the Mikasuki-speaking Seminole

1951 -- Conducted his first research study of the Iroquois, a classification of Seneca musical instruments, their construction and use, with Harold Conklin

1952 -- May: Moved to Big Cypress Reservation in Florida to conduct research for his dissertation. He focused on Seminole medicine, but also collected physical anthropological data such as blood-type frequencies, handedness, and color blindness

1952 -- July 26: Married Theda Maw

1954 -- Hired by Yale University as an instructor in the Department of Anthropology and as an assistant curator of anthropology in the Yale Peabody Museum

1955 -- Received PhD in anthropology from Yale University

1956 -- Joined the staff of the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) as a research anthropologist

1957 -- Began a three-year term on the Board of Governors of the Anthropological Society of Washington

1957 -- Traveled to Rock Hill, South Carolina to collect linguistic data from Sam Blue, the last member of the Catawba tribe to have maintained some proficiency in the Catawba language. While there, he made a small collection of Catawba pottery for the United States National Museum

1957-1958 -- Spent seven weeks continuing his research among the New York Seneca

1959 -- Returned to Florida to study Seminole ethnobotany. He also collected ethnographic materials, especially objects made for the tourist market, which he deposited in the United States National Museum

1959-1960 -- Member of the executive committee of the Florida Anthropological Society

1960 -- July and August: Visited 17 European museums to examine early ethnographic examples and possible European prototypes of eastern North American Indian material culture

1961-1962 -- Spent the summers of these years conducting ethnographic fieldwork among the Seneca-Cayuga in Oklahoma

1962 -- October: Visited the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada to conduct fieldwork among the Seneca and Cayuga there

1962-1968 -- Book-review editor and associate editor of the American Anthropologist

1963 -- October: Spent the year in Burma; visited neighborhoods in Rangoon and villages in the surrounding countryside, examined photographs in several archives, studied the Burmese language, and read extensively about the country's history and culture. Assembled notes on Burmese clothing and other aspects of the culture, took hundreds of photographs, and made a collection of 386 items of clothing and other objects for the Smithsonian

1964 -- Visited Inle Lake in the Southern Shan States southeast of Mandalay, where he examined local approaches to artificial island agriculture

1964-1981 -- Became a member of the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Anthropological Research in Museums, which became the Council for Museum Anthropology in 1974. Sturtevant was the Council's first vice president, serving two terms between 1974 and 1978, and was its president from 1978 to 1981

1965 -- Became curator of North American Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History after the dissolution of the BAE

1965-1966 -- President of the American Society for Ethnohistory

1966 -- Named the editor of the Handbook of North American Indians

1967-1968 -- Fulbright scholar and lecturer at Oxford University's Institute of Social Anthropology

1969 -- Began serving on the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Archives

1974-1989 -- Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Johns Hopkins University

1976-1982 -- Served three terms on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation and was appointed to a fourth term between 1984 and 1986

1977 -- President of the American Ethnological Society

1980-1981 -- President of the American Anthropological Association

1981 -- Spent part of the spring semester at the University of California Berkeley as a Regents Lecturer

1982-1988 -- Board of Directors of Survival International

1986 -- Divorced Theda Maw

1986-1987 -- Smithsonian Fellow at Oxford University's Worcester College

1990 -- Married Sally McLendon

1992 -- President of the Anthropological Society of Washington

1996 -- Awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters at Brown University

2007 -- Died March 2 in Rockville, MD

Related Materials:

Other materials relating to William C. Sturtevant at the National Anthropological Archives are included in the following collections:

Manuscript 4504

Manuscript 4595

Manuscript 4806

Manuscript 4821

Manuscript 4972

Manuscript 7045

Photo Lot 59

Photo Lot 79-51

Photo Lot 80-3

Photo Lot 81R

Photo Lot 86-68 (6)

Photo Lot 86-68 (7)

American Society for Ethnohistory records

Committee on Anthropological Research in Museum Records

Handbook of North American Indians records

Records of the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History

Gordon Davis Gibson Papers, Sound Recordings

SPC Se Powhatan Confederacy Mattapony BAE No # 01790700

DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04913800

DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04913900

DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04914000

Negative MNH 1530

Negative MNH 1530 B

Sturtevant is listed as a correspondent in the following NAA collections:

Administrative file, 1949-1965, Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology

John Lawrence Angel Papers

James Henri Howard Papers

Donald Jayne Lehmer Papers

John Victor Murra Papers

Records of the Society for American Archaeology

Albert Clanton Spaulding Papers

Waldo Rudolph Wedel and Mildred Mott Wedel Papers

Copies of sound recordings made by William C. Sturtevant can be found at The California Language Archive at UC Berkeley in two collections, The William Sturtevant collection of Creek/Seminole sound recordings, which includes 31 minutes of Northern Muskogean linguistic field recordings from 1951, and The William Sturtevant collection of Mikasuki sound recordings, which includes 33 minutes of Mikasuki linguistic field recordings from 1951. Two sound tape reels of Seminole music Sturtevant recorded in Florida in 1951 can be found at Wesleyan University's World Music Archives. Folk songs on these recordings include "Scalping Sickness," "Bear Sickness with blowing," "Bear sickness without blowing," "Lullaby," "Feather Dance," "Snake Dance," and "Crazy Dance." Performers include Josie Billie, Lee Cypress, Harvey Jumper, Boy Jim, Charlie (Johnny?) Cypress, Little Tiger Tail, Billy Ossiola, and Charlie Billy Boy.

Separated Materials:

One video tape, "Seminole History and Tradition", was transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives. Series 2.2, Tukabahchee Plate: Glass negative of spectrogram from FBI (Box 135), removed for storage with other glass plate negatives.

Provenance:

These papers were transferred to the National Anthropological Archives by the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History.

Restrictions:

Files containing Sturtevant's students' grades have been restricted, as have his students' and colleagues' grant and fellowships applications. Restricted files were separated and placed at the end of their respective series in boxes 87, 264, 322, 389-394, 435-436, 448, 468, and 483. For preservation reasons, his computer files are also restricted. Seminole sound recordings are restricted. Access to the William C. Sturtevant Papers requires an apointment.

Rights:

Contact the repository for terms of use.

Topic:

Ethnology  Search this

Botany  Search this

Anthropology  Search this

Archaeology  Search this

History  Search this

Linguistics  Search this

Genre/Form:

Realia

Research

Notes

Office files

Theses

Slides (photographs)

Sound recordings

Exhibition catalogs

Field notes

Clippings

Correspondence

Photographs

Microfilms

Newsletters

Manuscripts

Memorandums

Articles

Card files

Books

Artifacts

Negatives

Citation:

William C. Sturtevant papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Sponsor:

The papers of William C. Sturtevant were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Dr. Ives Goddard. Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.

Identifier:

NAA.2008-24

See more items in:

William C. Sturtevant papers

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-2008-24

Creator:

Speck, Frank G. (Frank Gouldsmith), 1881-1950  Search this

Source:

Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation  Search this

Former owner:

Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation  Search this

Extent:

1428 Negatives (photographic)

40 Photographic prints (black & white)

Culture:

Mushuaunnuat (Barren Ground Naskapi)  Search this

Mistassini Cree  Search this

Lorette Huron  Search this

Mohawk  Search this

Montagnais Innu  Search this

Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg (Maniwaki Algonquin) [River Desert]  Search this

Maliseet (Malecite)  Search this

Mi'kmaq (Micmac)  Search this

Iroquois [Six Nations/Grand River (Brantford, Ontario)]  Search this

Penobscot  Search this

Passamaquoddy  Search this

Abenaki (Abnaki)  Search this

Wampanoag  Search this

Nauset  Search this

Mohegan  Search this

Niantic  Search this

Pequot  Search this

Nanticoke  Search this

Rappahannock  Search this

Chickahominy  Search this

Pamunkey  Search this

Mattaponi  Search this

Nansemond  Search this

Catawba  Search this

Eastern Band of Cherokee  Search this

Machapunga (Pungo River)  Search this

Innu  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Negatives (photographic)

Photographic prints

Negatives

Place:

Massachusetts

Maine

Maryland

Virginia

Canada

Delaware

North Carolina

Date:

1909-1937

Summary:

The Frank Gouldsmith Speck photograph collection includes portraits of individuals and families, as well as scenic shots and landscape views made between 1909 and 1937. Speck was an anthropologist and ethnographer, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and worked on behalf of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation collecting ethnographic materials across the Eastern United States and Canada. His collection of photographs includes materials from native communities ranging from Newfoundland to Ontario in Canada and from Maine to South Carolina in the United States.

Scope and Contents:

The Frank Gouldsmith Speck photograph collection includes negatives and a small amount of prints made by Speck throughout the course of his career as an anthropologist and ethnographer. The majority of the photographs in this collection were made while Speck conducted field trips on behalf of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation between 1924 and 1932, though there are photographs from before and after this time. This collection has been arranged into Series by geographical location and then into subseries by culture group or community. Series 1: Newfoundland and Labrador: Innu, Mushuaunnuat, 1916-1935; Series 2: Quebec: Innu, Mistassini Cree, Lorette Huron, Wawenock, Mohawk, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, 1910-1937; Series 3: New Brunswick and Nova Scotia: Maliseet, Mi'kmaq, 1909-1917; Series 4: Ontario: Six Nations/Grand River (Naticoke, Mohawk, Cayuga, Mahican, Tutelo), Oneida Nation, 1914-1937; Series 5: Maine and New Hampshire: Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Abenaki, 1910-1924; Series 6: Massachussets and Rhode Island: Wampanoag, Nauset, 1914-1931; Series 7: Connecticut: Mohegan, Niantic, Schaghticoke, Pequot, 1912-1931; Series 8: Delaware: Nanticoke and Rappahanock, 1911-1925; Series 9: Virginia and Maryland: Rappahanock, Chickahominy, Pamunkey, Mattaponi, Nansemond, Potomac, Accomac, Powhatan, 1915-1924; Series 10: North Carolina and South Carolina: Catawba, Eastern Band of Cherokee, 1915-1930.

Many of Frank Speck's photographs are individual and family portraits of community members, many identified, posed outdoors in front of homes and community buildings. There are also landscape views as well as photographs taken during community events. There are a small amount of photographs that have now been restricted due to cultural sensitivity though for the most part Speck did not photograph culturally sensitive activities.

Arrangement:

The collection is intellectually arranged in 10 Series by geographic region and within each series by culture group. The negatives are physically arranged by catalog number.

Biographical / Historical:

Frank Gouldsmith Speck was born on November 8, 1881 in Brooklyn, New York. He studied under the prominent linguist John Dyneley Prince and anthropologist Franz Boas at Columbia University, receiving his BA in 1904 and MA in 1905. He received his Ph.D. in 1908 from the University of Pennsylvania. His doctoral dissertation on the ethnography of the Yuchi became a basis for an article which later appeared in the Handbook of American Indians. That same year Speck became an assistant in the University of Pennsylvania Museum and an instructor in anthropology at the University. He was made assistant professor in 1911, and professor and chairperson of the department in 1925, a position which he held until his death in 1950. Speck was the founder of the Philadelphia Anthropological Society, and was vice-president of the American Anthropological Association from 1945-46. Speck's research concentration was on the Algonkian speaking peoples. Speck studied every aspect of a culture: language, ethnobiology, technology, decorative art, myths, religion, ceremonialism, social organization, and music. Collecting material culture was also an integral part of Speck's fieldwork. His collections can be found in museums around the world, one of which is the National Museum of the American Indian. He is the author of numerous books and articles. Frank G. Speck died February 6, 1950. (A. Irving Hallowell, American Anthropologist, Vol. 53, No. 1, 1951)

Related Materials:

The Frank G. Speck Papers can be found at the American Philosophical Society (Mss.Ms.Coll.126) along with additional photographic materials by Speck.

Frank Speck published extensively in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation publications; "Indian Notes" and "Indian Notes and Monographs." These publications are avialable through the Smithsonian Institution Libraries or online on the Internet Archive.

Separated Materials:

A small amount of notes from Speck's field work can be found in the Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records (NMAI.AC.001) in Box 273, Folder 18 through Box 274 Folder 2.

Close to 4000 ethnographic and archeological items were collected by Speck for the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation (MAI) and are now in the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) collection. For more information about these objects contact the NMAI Collections Department.

Provenance:

The majority of the negatives were gifted to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation (MAI) by Frank Speck in 1927. The group of Nanticoke photographs were purchased by the MAI in 1915 and smaller amounts of photographs were gifted and purchased by the MAI between 1923 and 1942.

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:

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 to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, 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. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.

Topic:

Indians of North America -- Maine  Search this

Indians of North America -- Northeast  Search this

Indians of North America -- Maryland  Search this

Indians of North America -- Massachusetts  Search this

Indians of North America -- Canada  Search this

Indians of North America -- Delaware  Search this

Indians of North America -- Midwest  Search this

Indians of North America -- Virginia  Search this

Indians of North America -- North Carolina  Search this

Indians of North America -- Southeast  Search this

Genre/Form:

Negatives

Photographic prints

Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Frank Speck photograph collection, Photo Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAI.AC.001.032

See more items in:

Frank Gouldsmith Speck photograph collection

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmai-ac-001-032

Source:

Cutipa Lima, Juan de Dios  Search this

California Academy of Sciences. Anthropology Department  Search this

Textile Museum (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Author:

Zorn, Elayne  Search this

Names:

American Anthropological Association  Search this

Brooklyn Museum of Art  Search this

University of Central Florida. Department of Sociology & Anthropology  Search this

Cahlander, Adele  Search this

Former owner:

California Academy of Sciences. Anthropology Department  Search this

Textile Museum (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Cutipa Lima, Juan de Dios  Search this

Extent:

1,474 Photographic prints

11526 Negatives (photographic)

10 Videocassettes

11 Linear feet

57 Sound recordings (57 cassette tapes.)

11412 Slides (photographs)

Culture:

Quechua  Search this

Aymara  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographic prints

Negatives (photographic)

Videocassettes

Sound recordings

Slides (photographs)

Negatives

Research

Audiocassettes

Writings

Field notes

Place:

Sacaca (Bolivia)

Potosí (Bolivia : Dept.) -- Description and travel.

Puno (Peru : Dept.)

Andes Region -- Economic integration.

Taquili (Peru) -- Economic conditions

Peru

Taquili (Peru) -- Social life and customs

Date:

1971-2010

Summary:

The Elayne Zorn Collection measures 11 linear feet and contains thousands of photographic objects including negatives, slides and prints. The collection material spans the years of Zorn's professional and student activity in the fields of anthropology and Latin American studies from around 1975 until 2010. The material in this collection reflects Zorn's long association with the community in Taquile, Peru which led up to the publication of her book, Weaving a Future, in 2004. Zorn also spent a significant amount of time conducting field research in Andean communities in Bolivia examining the relationships between tourism and textiles. Zorn's additional professional activities included serving as a textile collector and expert advisor for museum collections and exhibitions as well as performing academic duties at the University of Central Florida.

Scope and Contents:

The Elayne Zorn Collection spans the years of Zorn's professional and student activity in the fields of anthropology and Latin American studies from 1975 until 2010. This includes material from Zorn's field research in the Andean Regions of Peru and Bolivia as well as her professional activities as a textile collector and expert advisor for museum collections and exhibitions. This collection is arranged into six series with additional subseries. Series 1, Field Research, includes field notebooks, correspondence, and general research from Taquile, Peru, Sakaka, Bolivia and La Paz, Bolivia. Series 2, Professional Activities, includes presentation and lecture notes, object catalogs for various museum collections and Zorn's academic work conducted at the University of Central Florida. Series 3, Publications and Writings, contains both articles written by Zorn, including her Master's thesis and dissertation, and articles published by colleagues. Series 4, Ephemera and Miscellaneous, contains a variety of materials including posters, postcards, datebooks and calendars as well as material gathered by Zorn's former husband, Juan Cutipa. Series 5, Photographs, includes negatives, slides, prints and digital media that document Zorn's work in the field. The bulk of the photographs capture the daily lives of weavers as well as important community holidays and festivals. Series 6, Audio-Visual Materials, includes a small amount of VHS tapes as well as audio-cassettes on which Zorn recorded traditional Andean music performed at festivals she attended in Peru and Bolivia.

Arrangement:

Series 1: Field Research, 1975-2006

Subseries 1.1: Taquile, Peru, 1975-1994 [1977-1981]

Subseries 1.2: Sakaka, Bolivia, 1985-1994

Subseries 1.3: La Paz, Bolivia, 2006

Subseries 1.4: Miscellaneous Field Notes, 1976-2006

Series 2: Professional Activities, 1978-2010

Subseries 2.1: Conferences and Presentations, 1977-2009

Subseries 2.2: Museum Work, 1976-2008

Subseries 2.3: General, 1976-2010

Series 3: Publications and Writings, 1979-2009

Subseries 3.1: Elayne Zorn, 1979-2009

Subseries 3.2: Other Authors, 1979-2005

Series 4: Ephemera and Miscellaneous, 1975-2009

Series 5: Photographs, 1970-2006

Subseries 5.1: Negatives, 1976-1997

Subseries 5.2: Slides, 1970-2002

Subseries 5.3: Prints, 1978-2000

Subseries 5.4: Digital Media, 2002-2006

Series 6: Audio-Visual Materials, 1983-1994

Subseries 6.1: Cassette Tapes, 1983-1991

Subseries 6.2: Videotapes, 1991-1994

Biographical / Historical:

Elayne Leslie Zorn was born on February 3, 1952 in New York City. She attended Hunter College High School and Barnard College. She received her Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree in Textile Arts from the California College of the Arts in 1975. She then began a long association with the community on the Island of Taquile, in the Puno region of Peru, conducting fieldwork on native weaving techniques. She also began a long-term affiliation with the Museo Nacional de Etnografia y Folklore in La Paz, Bolivia and collected textiles in the Macusani region of Peru for an exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences. She received her Master's degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas, Austin in 1983, with fieldwork concentrated on economic development and tourism in Taquile, Peru. During her time in Peru in the 1970's and 1980's, Zorn became an accomplished musician, playing the charango and Bolivian mandolin in performances in Andean towns as well as in New York City. Zorn resumed graduate studies in 1985 at Cornell University where she received her Master of Arts degree in anthropology in 1987 followed by her Ph.D. in 1997. At Cornell she worked under the supervision of Professor Billie Jean Isbell and conducted much of her dissertation fieldwork in Sakaka, Bolivia focusing on the global transformation of cloth and identity in highland Andean regions. Zorn worked as a visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Colgate University from 1997 to 1998 and then hired as Professor of Anthropology at the University of Central Florida from 1998 until 2010. While at the University of Central Florida, Zorn received both teaching-related and research-related awards as well as grants to continue her fieldwork in the Andean regions of Peru and Bolivia. She also co-directed the PeruVine/PeruDigital Project, an interactive and immersive website to present field data from Peru's Institute of Ethnomusicology online. In 2004 Zorn published her book, Weaving a Future: Tourism, Cloth and Culture on an Andean Island (University of Iowa Press), an analysis of textile traditions as it relates to global change.

In addition to her academic duties, throughout her career Zorn collaborated with various museums and cultural institutions as a consultant and collector. These included, but are not limited to, The Brooklyn Museum, The Textile Museum, Smithsonian Center for Folklife Programs, UNICEF and the Inter-American Foundation. She was also a member of various professional societies including the American Anthropological Association, the Bolivian Studies Association, the Society for Latin American, Carribean, and Latino Studies as well as the Textile Society of America. Zorn passed away June 15, 2010 and was survived by her mother, Sandra Gordon, and her son, Gavriel Cutipa-Zorn.

Sources: http://anthropology.cos.ucf.edu/include/file/people/cv/zorn_elayne.pdf (Accessed May 01, 2012) http://digitalethnography.dm.ucf.edu/pv/Zorn.html (Accessed May 1, 2012)

Provenance:

This collection was donated by Gavriel Cutipa-Zorn, Elayne Zorn's son in April of 2011.

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 broadbast materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.

Topic:

Tourism -- Andes Region  Search this

Women weavers -- Social life and customs -- Photographs  Search this

Festivals -- Bolivia -- Potosí  Search this

Textile fabrics -- Andes Region  Search this

Genre/Form:

Negatives

Research

Slides (photographs)

Audiocassettes

Writings

Field notes

Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Collection Title, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAI.AC.022

See more items in:

Elayne Zorn Collection

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmai-ac-022

Creator:

Hoebel, E. Adamson (Edward Adamson), 1906-1993  Search this

Names:

Laboratory of Anthropology (Museum of New Mexico)  Search this

Linton, Ralph, 1893-1953  Search this

Extent:

33 Prints (silver gelatin)

Culture:

Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this

Shoshone  Search this

Niuam (Comanche)  Search this

Indians of North America -- Great Basin  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Prints

Photographs

Date:

1933-1934

Scope and Contents note:

Photographs made by Edward Adamson Hoebel during a 1933 Laboratory of Anthropology field school session led by Ralph Linton. They consist of images of Comanche Indians, including a Comanche brush dance at Walters, Oklahoma, and images of Shoshoni Indians during a sun dance at Fort Hall, Idaho, in 1934.

Biographical/Historical note:

Edward Adamson Hoebel (1906-1993) was an anthropologist and educator who pioneered studies of the legal systems of pre-literate societies. He received his PhD in anthropology from Columbia University in 1934, publishing his dissertation, "The Political Organization and Law-ways of the Comanche Indians," after conducting field research on Comanche legal systems at the Santa Fe Laboratory of Anthropology under the direction of Ralph Linton. Hoebel taught sociology and anthropology at New York University from 1929 until 1948 and later became a professor, head of the anthropology department, and Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Utah. Hoebel took visiting professorships at the universities of Harvard, Chicago, Nijmegen, Arizona, and Lehigh and served as president of the American Ethnological Society and the American Anthropological Association. He retired as Regents' Professor of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota.

Local Call Number(s):

NAA Photo Lot 91-9

Location of Other Archival Materials:

Reports and correspondence by Hoebel held in the National Anthropological Archives in the American Ethnological Society records, Bureau of American Ethnology Administrative File, Esther Schiff Goldfrank Papers, and Raoul Weston LaBarre Papers.

Additional photographs of Comanche Indians at Walters held in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 7505.

The American Philosophical Society holds the E. Adamson Hoebel Papers.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Access to the collection requires an appointment.

Rights:

Contact the repository for terms of use.

Topic:

Sun Dance  Search this

Indian dance -- North America  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Photo Lot 91-9, Edward Adamson Hoebel photographs of Shoshoni and Comanche Indians and dances, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.PhotoLot.91-9

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-photolot-91-9

Creator:

Loveland, Franklin O.  Search this

Extent:

492 Pages

79 Photographic prints

Culture:

Rama  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Photographic prints

Dissertations

Photographs

Date:

1969; 1975

Local Numbers:

NAA MS 7272

Local Note:

Xerox copy of typescript; black and white silver gelatin prints.

Rights:

Copyrighted material; cannot be reproduced without permission of the author.

Topic:

Cosmology -- Rama  Search this

Folklore -- Rama  Search this

Rama Cay -- Nicaragua  Search this

Genre/Form:

Dissertations

Photographs

Citation:

Manuscript 7272, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.MS7272

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-ms7272

Creator:

McClellan, Catharine  Search this

Guédon, Marie Françoise  Search this

Swanton, John Reed, 1873-1958  Search this

Emmons, George Thornton  Search this

De Laguna, Frederica, 1906-2004  Search this

Correspondent:

Stearns, Mary Lee  Search this

Aberle, David F. (David Friend), 1918-2004  Search this

Arensberg, Conrad M. (Conrad Maynadier), 1910-1997  Search this

Baird, Melissa  Search this

Balzer, Marjorie  Search this

Bersch, Gretchen  Search this

Birket-Smith, Kaj  Search this

Black, Lydia  Search this

Boas, Franz, 1858-1942  Search this

Chowning, Ann  Search this

Clark, J. Desmond (John Desmond), 1916-2002  Search this

Codere, Helen F., 1917-2009  Search this

Collins, Henry B. (Henry Bascom), 1899-1987  Search this

Colton, Harold Sellers, 1881-1970  Search this

Conklin, Harold C., 1926-2016  Search this

Corbett, John M.  Search this

Darnell, Regna  Search this

Dauenhauer, Nora  Search this

Dauenhauer, Richard  Search this

Davenport, William  Search this

Dockstader, Frederick J.  Search this

Drucker, Philip, 1911-1982  Search this

Du Bois, Cora Alice, 1903-1991  Search this

Duff, Wilson, 1925-  Search this

Fair, Susan  Search this

Fitzhugh, William W., 1943-  Search this

Foster, George McClelland, 1913-  Search this

Garfield, Viola Edmundson, 1899-1983  Search this

Giddings, James Louis  Search this

Gjessing, Gutorm, 1906  Search this

Grinev, Andrei V.  Search this

Hanable, William S.  Search this

Hara, Hiroko, 1934-  Search this

Haury, Emil W. (Emil Walter), 1904-1992  Search this

Heizer, Robert F. (Robert Fleming), 1915-1979  Search this

Helm, June, 1924-  Search this

Herskovits, Melville J. (Melville Jean), 1895-1963  Search this

Holtved, Erik  Search this

Jenness, Diamond, 1886-1969  Search this

Kahn, Mimi  Search this

Kan, Sergei  Search this

Krauss, Michael E., 1934-  Search this

Kroeber, A. L. (Alfred Louis), 1876-1960  Search this

Larsen, Helge, 1905-1984  Search this

Leer, Jeff  Search this

Lindgren, E. J. (Ethel John), 1904-1988  Search this

Lomax, Alan, 1915-2002  Search this

Low, Jean  Search this

Mathiassen, Therkel, 1892-1967  Search this

Mead, Margaret, 1901-1978  Search this

Olson, Wallace  Search this

Rainey, Froelich G. (Froelich Gladstone), 1907-1992  Search this

Riddell, Francis A. (Francis Allen), 1921-2002  Search this

Ritchie, William A. (William Augustus), 1903-1995  Search this

Schneider, William  Search this

Schumacher, Paul J. F.  Search this

Shinkwin, Anne D.  Search this

Spier, Leslie, 1893-1961  Search this

Spiro, Melford E., 1920-2014  Search this

Underhill, Ruth, 1883-1984  Search this

VanStone, James W.  Search this

Weiner, Annette B., 1933-  Search this

Weitzner, Bella, 1891?-1988  Search this

White, Leslie A., 1900-1975  Search this

Woodbury, Natalie Ferris Sampson  Search this

Woodbury, Richard B. (Richard Benjamin), 1917-2009  Search this

Workman, Karen Wood  Search this

Workman, William B.  Search this

Names:

American Anthropological Association  Search this

Bryn Mawr College  Search this

Photographer:

Smith, Harlan Ingersoll, 1872-1940  Search this

Extent:

2 Map drawers

38 Linear feet (71 document boxes, 1 half document box, 2 manuscript folders, 4 card file boxes, 1 flat box, and 1 oversize box)

Culture:

Yakutat  Search this

Tutchone Indians  Search this

Tsimshian  Search this

Indians of North America -- Subarctic  Search this

Tlingit Indians  Search this

Tanana  Search this

Kawchodinne (Hare)  Search this

Ahtna (Ahtena)  Search this

Athapascan Indians  Search this

Northern Athapaskan  Search this

Chugach  Search this

Kalaallit (Greenland Eskimo)  Search this

Indians of North America -- California  Search this

Eyak  Search this

Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America  Search this

Degexit'an (Ingalik)  Search this

Arctic peoples  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Map drawers

Manuscripts

Maps

Field notes

Correspondence

Photographs

Sound recordings

Place:

Alaska -- Archaeology

Aishihik (Yukon)

Angoon (Alaska)

Alaska -- Ethnology

Chistochina (Alaska)

Greenland

Copper River (Alaska)

Klukshu (Yukon)

Hoonah (Alaska)

Kodiak Island (Alaska)

Klukwan (Alaska)

Saint Lawrence River Valley

New Brunswick -- Archaeology

Yukon Island (Alaska)

Date:

1890-2004

bulk 1923-2004

Summary:

These papers reflect the professional and personal life of Frederica de Laguna. The collection contains correspondence, field notes, writings, newspaper clippings, writings by others, subject files, sound recordings, photographs, and maps. A significant portion of the collection consists of de Laguna's correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and students, as well as her informants from the field. Her correspondence covers a wide range of subjects such as family, health, preparations for field work, her publications and projects, the Northwest Coast, her opinions on the state of anthropology, and politics. The field notes in the collection mainly represent de Laguna and her assistants' work in the Northern Tlingit region of Alaska from 1949 to 1954. In addition, the collection contains materials related to her work in the St. Lawrence River Valley in Ontario in 1947 and Catherine McClellan's field journal for her research in Aishihik, Yukon Territory in 1968. Most of the audio reels in the collection are field recordings made by de Laguna, McClellan, and Marie-Françoise Guédon of vocabulary and songs and speeches at potlatches and other ceremonies from 1952 to 1969. Tlingit and several Athabaskan languages including Atna, Tutochone, Upper Tanana, and Tanacross are represented in the recordings. Also in the collection are copies of John R. Swanton's Tlingit recordings and Hiroko Hara Sue's recordings among the Hare Indians. Additional materials related to de Laguna's research on the Northwest Coast include her notes on clans and tribes in Series VI: Subject Files and her notes on Tlingit vocabulary and Yakutat names specimens in Series X: Card Files. Drafts and notes for Voyage to Greenland, Travels Among the Dena, and The Tlingit Indians can be found in the collection as well as her drawings for her dissertation and materials related to her work for the Handbook of North American Indians and other publications. There is little material related to Under Mount Saint Elias except for correspondence, photocopies and negatives of plates, and grant applications for the monograph. Of special interest among de Laguna's writings is a photocopy of her historical fiction novel, The Thousand March. Other materials of special interest are copies of her talks, including her AAA presidential address, and the dissertation of Regna Darnell, a former student of de Laguna's. In addition, materials on the history of anthropology are in the collection, most of which can found with her teaching materials. Although the bulk of the collection documents de Laguna's professional years, the collection also contains newspaper articles and letters regarding her exceptional performance as a student at Bryn Mawr College and her undergraduate and graduate report cards. Only a few photographs of de Laguna can be found in the collection along with photographs of her 1929 and 1979 trips to Greenland.

Scope and Contents:

These papers reflect the professional and personal life of Frederica de Laguna. The collection contains correspondence, field notes, writings, newspaper clippings, writings by others, subject files, sound recordings, photographs, and maps.

A significant portion of the collection consists of de Laguna's correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and students, as well as her informants from the field. Her correspondence covers a wide range of subjects such as family, health, preparations for field work, her publications and projects, the Northwest Coast, her opinions on the state of anthropology, and politics. Among her notable correspondents are Kaj Birket-Smith, J. Desmond Clark, Henry Collins, George Foster, Viola Garfield, Marie-Françoise Guédon, Diamond Jenness, Michael Krauss, Therkel Mathiassen, Catharine McClellan, and Wallace Olson. She also corresponded with several eminent anthropologists including Franz Boas, William Fitzhugh, J. Louis Giddings, Emil Haury, June Helm, Melville Herskovitz, Alfred Kroeber, Helge Larsen, Alan Lomax, Margaret Mead, Froelich Rainey, Leslie Spier, Ruth Underhill, James VanStone, Annette Weiner, and Leslie White.

The field notes in the collection mainly represent de Laguna and her assistants' work in the Northern Tlingit region of Alaska from 1949 to 1954. In addition, the collection contains materials related to her work in the St. Lawrence River Valley in Ontario in 1947 and Catharine McClellan's field journal for her research in Aishihik, Yukon Territory in 1968. Most of the audio reels in the collection are field recordings made by de Laguna, McClellan, and Marie-Françoise Guédon of vocabulary and songs and speeches at potlatches and other ceremonies from 1952 to 1969. Tlingit and several Athapaskan languages including Atna, Tutochone, Upper Tanana, and Tanacross are represented in the recordings. Also in the collection are copies of John R. Swanton's Tlingit recordings and Hiroko Hara's recordings among the Hare Indians. Additional materials related to de Laguna's research on the Northwest Coast include her notes on clans and tribes in Series VI: Subject Files and her notes on Tlingit vocabulary and Yakutat names specimens in Series 10: Card Files.

Drafts and notes for Voyage to Greenland, Travels Among the Dena, and The Tlingit Indians can be found in the collection as well as her drawings for her dissertation and materials related to her work for the Handbook of North American Indians and other publications. There is little material related to Under Mount Saint Elias except for correspondence, photocopies and negatives of plates, and grant applications for the monograph. Of special interest among de Laguna's writings is a photocopy of her historical fiction novel, The Thousand March.

Other materials of special interest are copies of her talks, including her AAA presidential address, and the dissertation of Regna Darnell, a former student of de Laguna's. In addition, materials on the history of anthropology are in the collection, most of which can found with her teaching materials. The collection also contains copies of photographs from the Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899. Although the bulk of the collection documents de Laguna's professional years, the collection also contains newspaper articles and letters regarding her exceptional performance as a student at Bryn Mawr College and her undergraduate and graduate report cards. Only a few photographs of de Laguna can be found in the collection along with photographs of her 1929 and 1979 trips to Greenland.

Arrangement note:

Arranged in 12 series: (1) Correspondence, 1923-2004; (2) Field Research, 1947-1968; (3) Writings, 1926-2001; (4) Teaching, 1922-1988; (5) Professional Activities, 1939-2001; (6) Subject Files, 1890-2002; (7) Writings by Others, 1962-2000; (8) Personal, 1923-2000; (9) Photographs, 1929-1986; (10) Card Files; (11) Maps, 1928-1973; (12) Sound Recordings, 1904-1973

Biographical / Historical:

Frederica Annis Lopez de Leo de Laguna was a pioneering archaeologist and ethnographer of northwestern North America. Known as Freddy by her friends, she was one of the last students of Franz Boas. She served as first vice-president of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) from 1949 to 1950 and as president of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) from 1966-1967. She also founded the anthropology department at Bryn Mawr College where she taught from 1938 to 1972. In 1975, she and Margaret Mead, a former classmate, were the first women to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Born on October 3, 1906 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, de Laguna was the daughter of Theodore Lopez de Leo de Laguna and Grace Mead Andrus, both philosophy professors at Bryn Mawr College. Often sick as a child, de Laguna was home-schooled by her parents until she was 9. She excelled as a student at Bryn Mawr College, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in politics and economics in 1927. She was awarded the college's prestigious European fellowship, which upon the suggestion of her parents, she deferred for a year to study anthropology at Columbia University under Boas. Her parents had recently attended a lecture given by Boas and felt that anthropology would unite her interests in the social sciences and her love for the outdoors.

After a year studying at Columbia with Boas, Gladys Reichard, and Ruth Benedict, de Laguna was still uncertain whether anthropology was the field for her. Nevertheless, she followed Boas's advice to spend her year abroad studying the connection between Eskimo and Paleolithic art, which would later became the topic of her dissertation. In the summer of 1928, she gained fieldwork experience under George Grant MacCurdy visiting prehistoric sites in England, France, and Spain. In Paris, she attended lectures on prehistoric art by Abbe Breuil and received guidance from Paul Rivet and Marcelin Boule. Engaged to an Englishman she had met at Columbia University, de Laguna decided to also enroll at the London School of Economics in case she needed to earn her degree there. She took a seminar with Bronislaw Malinowski, an experience she found unpleasant and disappointing.

It was de Laguna's visit to the National Museum in Copenhagen to examine the archaeological collections from Central Eskimo that became the turning point in her life. During her visit, she met Therkel Mathiassen who invited her to be his assistant on what would be the first scientific archaeological excavation in Greenland. She sailed off with him in June 1929, intending to return early in August. Instead, she decided to stay until October to finish the excavation with Mathiassen, now convinced that her future lay in anthropology. When she returned from Greenland she broke off her engagement with her fiancé, deciding that she would not able to both fully pursue a career in anthropology and be the sort of wife she felt he deserved. Her experiences in Greenland became the subject of her 1977 memoir, Voyage to Greenland: A Personal Initiation into Anthropology.

The following year, Kaj Birket-Smith, whom de Laguna had also met in Copenhagen, agreed to let her accompany him as his research assistant on his summer expedition to Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet. When Birket-Smith fell ill and was unable to go, de Laguna was determined to continue on with the trip. She convinced the University of Pennsylvania Museum to fund her trip to Alaska to survey potential excavation sites and took as her assistant her 20 year old brother, Wallace, who became a geologist. A close family, de Laguna's brother and mother would later accompany her on other research trips.

In 1931, the University of Pennsylvania Museum hired de Laguna to catalogue Eskimo collections. They again financed her work in Cook Inlet that year as well as the following year. In 1933, she earned her PhD from Columbia and led an archaeological and ethnological expedition of the Prince William Sound with Birket-Smith. They coauthored "The Eyak Indians of the Copper River Delta, Alaska," published in 1938. In 1935, de Laguna led an archaeological and geological reconnaissance of middle and lower Yukon Valley, traveling down the Tanana River. Several decades later, the 1935 trip contributed to two of her books: Travels Among the Dena, published in 1994, and Tales From the Dena, published in 1997.

In 1935 and 1936, de Laguna worked briefly as an Associate Soil Conservationist, surveying economic and social conditions on the Pima Indian Reservation in Arizona. She later returned to Arizona during the summers to conduct research and in 1941, led a summer archaeological field school under the sponsorship of Bryn Mawr College and the Museum of Northern Arizona.

By this time, de Laguna had already published several academic articles and was also the author of three fiction books. Published in 1930, The Thousand March: Adventures of an American Boy with the Garibaldi was her historical fiction book for juveniles. She also wrote two detective novels: The Arrow Points to Murder (1937) and Fog on the Mountain (1938). The Arrow Points to Murder is set in a museum based on her experiences at the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the American Museum of National History. Fog on the Mountain is set in Cook Inlet and draws upon de Laguna's experiences in Alaska. Both detective novels helped to finance her research.

De Laguna began her long career at Bryn Mawr College in 1938 when she was hired as a lecturer in the sociology department to teach the first ever anthropology course at the college. By 1950, she was chairman of the joint department of Sociology and Anthropology, and in 1967, the chairman of the newly independent Anthropology Department. She was also a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania (1947-1949; 1972-1976) and at the University of California, Berkeley (1959-1960; 1972-1973.)

During World War II, de Laguna took a leave of absence from Bryn Mawr College to serve in the naval reserve from 1942 to 1945. As a member of WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service), she taught naval history and codes and ciphers to women midshipmen at Smith College. She took great pride in her naval service and in her later years joined the local chapter of WAVES National, an organization for former and current members of WAVES.

In 1950, de Laguna returned to Alaska to work in the Northern Tlingit region. Her ethnological and archaeological study of the Tlingit Indians brought her back several more times throughout the 1950s and led to the publication of Under Mount Saint Elias in 1972. Her comprehensive three-volume monograph is still considered the authoritative work on the Yakutat Tlingit. In 1954, de Laguna turned her focus to the Atna Indians of Copper River, returning to the area in 1958, 1960, and 1968.

De Laguna retired from Bryn Mawr College in 1972 under the college's mandatory retirement policy. Although she suffered from many ailments in her later years including macular degeneration, she remained professionally active. Five decades after her first visit to Greenland, de Laguna returned to Upernavik in 1979 to conduct ethnographic investigations. In 1985, she finished editing George Thornton Emmons' unpublished manuscript The Tlingit Indians. A project she had begun in 1955, the book was finally published in 1991. In 1986, she served as a volunteer consultant archaeologist and ethnologist for the U. S. Forest Service in Alaska. In 1994, she took part in "More than Words . . ." Laura Bliss Spann's documentary on the last Eyak speaker, Maggie Smith Jones. By 2001, de Laguna was legally blind. Nevertheless, she continued working on several projects and established the Frederica de Laguna Northern Books Press to reprint out-of-print literature and publish new scholarly works on Arctic cultures.

Over her lifetime, de Laguna received several honors including her election into the National Academy Sciences in 1976, the Distinguished Service Award from AAA in 1986, and the Lucy Wharton Drexel Medal from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999. De Laguna's work, however, was respected by not only her colleagues but also by the people she studied. In 1996, the people of Yakutat honored de Laguna with a potlatch. Her return to Yakutat was filmed by Laura Bliss Spann in her documentary Reunion at Mt St. Elias: The Return of Frederica de Laguna to Yakutat.

At the age of 98, Frederica de Laguna passed away on October 6, 2004.

Sources Consulted

Darnell, Regna. "Frederica de Laguna (1906-2004)." American Anthropologist 107.3 (2005): 554-556.

de Laguna, Frederica. Voyage to Greenland: A Personal Initiation into Anthropology. New York: W.W. Norton Co, 1977.

McClellan, Catharine. "Frederica de Laguna and the Pleasures of Anthropology." American Ethnologist 16.4 (1989): 766-785.

Olson, Wallace M. "Obituary: Frederica de Laguna (1906-2004)." Arctic 58.1 (2005): 89-90.

Related Materials:

Although this collection contains a great deal of correspondence associated with her service as president of AAA, most of her presidential records can be found in American Anthropological Association Records 1917-1972. Also at the National Anthropological Archives are her transcripts of songs sung by Yakutat Tlingit recorded in 1952 and 1954 located in MS 7056 and her notes and drawings of Dorset culture materials in the National Museum of Canada located in MS 7265. The Human Studies Film Archive has a video oral history of de Laguna conducted by Norman Markel (SC-89.10.4).

Related collections can also be found in other repositories. The University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania holds materials related to work that de Laguna carried out for the museum from the 1930s to the 1960s. Materials relating to her fieldwork in Angoon and Yakutat can be found in the Rasmuson Library of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks in the papers of Francis A. Riddell, a field assistant to de Laguna in the early 1950s. Original photographs taken in the field in Alaska were deposited in the Alaska State Library, Juneau. Both the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress and the American Philosophical Library have copies of her field recordings and notes. The American Museum of Natural History has materials related to her work editing George T. Emmons' manuscript. De Laguna's papers can also be found at the Bryn Mawr College Archives.

Provenance:

These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Frederica de Laguna.

Restrictions:

Some of the original field notes are restricted due to Frederica de Laguna's request to protect the privacy of those accused of witchcraft. The originals are restricted until 2030. Photocopies may be made with the names of the accused redacted.

Rights:

Contact repository for terms of use.

Topic:

Language and languages -- Documentation  Search this

Anthropology -- History  Search this

Genre/Form:

Manuscripts

Maps

Field notes

Correspondence

Photographs

Sound recordings

Citation:

Frederica de Laguna Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.1998-89

See more items in:

Frederica de Laguna Papers

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-1998-89