Henry Lee -- Fatal flower garden -- House carpenter -- Drunkards special -- Old lady and the devil -- The butcher's boy -- The wagoner's lad -- King kong kitchie kitchie ki-me-o -- Old shoes and leggins -- Willie Moore -- Lazy farmer boy -- Peg and awl -- Ommie Wise -- My name is John Johanna -- Bandit Cole Younger -- Charles Giteau -- John Hardy was a desperate little man -- Gonna die with my hammer in my hand -- Stackalee -- White House blues -- Frankie -- When that great ship went down -- Engine 143 -- Kassie Jones -- Down on Penny's farm -- Mississippi boweavil blues -- Got the farm land blues.
Track Information:
101 Henry Lee (Child No. 68) / Dick Justice. Guitar.
406 Got the Farm Land Blues / Clarence Ashley, Carolina Tar Heels, Garley Foster. Guitar,Banjo,Harmonica.
Local Numbers:
Folkways.2951; Folkways.251
FW-ASCH-LP-02951
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
New York Folkways 1952
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Dallas (Tex.), United States, Texas.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Names beginning with Po-Pu and Q: Buster Poindexter to Quintana+Speer Includes Valery Pononarev, Jean-Luc Ponty, Charlie Pool and North Carolina Ramblers (1927), Bud Powell, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Andre Previn, Sammy Price, Morris Printup, Snooky...
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.
Collection Citation:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Jazz Musicians' Photographs, ca. 1970-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection is open for research. Access to collection materials requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
The NMAAHC Media Preservation team can provide reproductions of some materials for research and educational use. Copyright and right to publicity restrictions apply and limit reproduction for other purposes.
Collection Citation:
Pearl Bowser Collection, National Museum of African American History and Culture
The Matthew Williams Stirling and Marion Stirling Pugh papers, 1876-2004 (bulk 1921-1975), document the professional and personal lives of Matthew Stirling, Smithsonian archaeologist and Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology (1928-1957), and his wife and constant collaborator, Marion Stirling Pugh. The bulk of the material is professional in nature and includes material from Matthew's early career in the 1920s, the careers of Matthew and Marion together from when they married in 1933 to Matthew's death in 1975, and Marion's life and work from 1975 until her death in 2001.
The majority of the documentation relates to the investigation of the Olmec culture in Mexico by the Stirlings, including the discoveries of eight colossal Olmec heads. In addition, the collection documents their work in Panama, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, looking for connections between Mesoamerica and South America. Materials include field notes, journals, correspondence, photographs, writings, clippings, ephemera, articles, and scrapbooks.
Scope and Contents:
The Matthew Williams Stirling and Marion Stirling Pugh papers, 1876-2004 (bulk 1921-1975), document the professional and personal lives of Matthew Stirling, Smithsonian archaeologist, and Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology (1928-1957), and his wife and constant collaborator, Marion Stirling Pugh. The bulk of the material is professional in nature and includes material from Matthew's early career in the 1920s, the careers of Matthew and Marion together from when they married in 1933 to Matthew's death in 1975, and Marion's life and work from 1975 until her death in 2001.
The majority of the documentation relates to the investigation of the Olmec culture in Mexico by the Stirlings, including the discoveries of eight colossal Olmec heads. In addition, the collection documents their work in Panama, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, looking for connections between Mesoamerica and South America. Materials include field notes, journals, correspondence, photographs, writings, clippings, ephemera, articles, and scrapbooks.
Series 1. Field work, 1921-1998 (bulk 1921-1975) and undated, documents the archaeological expeditions undertaken by Matthew and Marion Stirling over a span of 40 years. This includes expeditions Matthew undertook prior to his marriage and collaboration with Marion to Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, and Florida, and extensive documentation of expeditions they embarked on together to Mexico, Panama, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.
Series 2. Other travels, 1946-1972 is comprised of materials documenting trips the Stirlings took that, for the most part, did not include field work. This includes trips for both business and personal travel, however it was common for the two to overlap.
Series 3. Administrative files, 1924-1980 and undated is partly comprised of materials the Stirlings compiled and organized into an alphabetical filing structure and also of materials that are administrative in nature and did not directly relate to other categories outlined in this finding aid.
Series 4 Writings and lectures, 1925-1990 and undated, consists of articles, papers, drafts, and notes primarily written by Matthew Stirling, with some materials co-written by Marion, and documentation relating to presentations the Stirlings gave regarding their field work and other professional matters. Also included is material relating to films that were made about the Stirling's work.
Series 5. Personal and family materials, 1880-1996 and undated, consists of documents, photographs, and ephemera that are personal in nature. This includes items relating to Matthew Stirling's young life and family history, photographs, correspondence, and clippings relating to his extended family, and photographs of and correspondence from Matt and Marion's children.
Series 6. Anthropological journals, 1876-1959, consists of collections of anthropological journals collected and categorized for reference and research purposes.
Series 7. Marion Stirling Pugh, 1924-2004 (bulk 1948-2002) and undated, consists of materials relating to endeavors Marion undertook without Matthew, primarily relating to her participation in the Society of Women Geographers from 1948-2000 and her life after Matthew died in 1975 until her death in 2001.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in 7 series: 1) Field work, 1921-1998 (bulk 1921-1975), undated; 2) Other travels, 1946-1972; 3) Administrative files, 1924-1980, undated; 4) Writings and lectures, 1925-1990, undated; 5) Personal and family materials, 1880-1996, undated; 6) Anthropological journals, 1876-1959; 7) Marion Stirling Pugh, 1924-2004 (bulk 1948-2002), undated.
Biographical note:
MATTHEW WILLIAMS STIRLING:
Matthew Williams Stirling, archaeologist and Director of the Bureau of American Ethnology (1928-1957), was born on August 28, 1896 in Salinas, California. After serving as an Ensign in the Navy from 1917-1919, he graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology in 1920 from the University of California, Berkeley studying under T.T. Waterman, Alfred L. Kroeber, and E.W. Gifford. From 1920-1921 he worked as a teaching fellow at the university, where he taught William Duncan Strong. Stirling's first tenure at the Smithsonian (then the U.S. National Museum (USNM)) was from 1921-1924, first as a museum aide, then as an Assistant Curator of Ethnology. While in the position he took night classes at George Washington University and received his M.A. in 1922. He received an honorary Sc.D. from Tampa University in 1943. In 1924, Stirling resigned his position at the museum and embarked on a journey to South American with his friend Perry Patton. From 1925-1927 he embarked on the Smithsonian sponsored American-Dutch Expedition to Papua New Guinea to explore the previously unknown interior region of Dutch New Guinea. Stirling was appointed Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution in 1928 and married Marion Illig in 1933. They worked together for the next 40 years studying Olmec culture and the connection to greater Mesoamerica and South America. They had two children (Matthew W. Stirling Jr. in 1938 and Ariana Stirling in 1942). Stirling retired as Director of the B.A.E. on December 31, 1957. He died January 23, 1975 in Washington, D.C.
Sources consulted:
Collins, Henry B. "Matthew Williams Stirling, 1896-1975." American Anthropologist, New Series, 78, no. 4 (1976): 886-88.
Coe, Michael D. "Matthew Williams Stirling, 1896-1975." American Antiquity 41, no. 1 (1976): 67-73.
MARION STIRLING PUGH:
Marion Stirling Pugh (nee Illig) was born in Middletown, New York on May 12, 1911. She graduated from Rider College in 1930 and came to Washington D.C. in 1931 where she took a job as a secretary to the Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Matthew Stirling. She attended night school at George Washington University from 1931-1933 where she studied anthropology, geology, and Russian. Marion and Matthew were married on December 11, 1933 and promptly embarked on a honeymoon expedition to Florida where Matthew was in charge of Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects. They worked together for the next 40 years studying Olmec culture and the connection to greater Mesoamerica and South America. They had two children (Matthew W. Stirling Jr. in 1938 and Ariana Stirling in 1942).
Marion was an active member of the Society of Women Geographers and was elected to the executive board in 1954. She served as president of the society from 1960-1963 and 1969-1972. She had a long-time association with the Textile Museum in Washington D.C. and in the 1970s established what would become the Latin American Research Fund to secure Latin American ethnographic textiles for the museum.
After Matthew's death in 1975, Marion married General John Ramsey Pugh in 1977. Pugh died in 1994. Marion continued to travel the world, including making a trip to Antarctica in her 80s, until her death on April 24, 2001 in Tucson, Arizona.
Sources consulted:
"Marion Stirling Pugh, 89." The Washington Post. May 11, 2001. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/05/11/marion-stirling-pugh-89/01329ba8-f32b-4d66-83fb-9f3c311aaefb/?utm_term=.ab20f25e060b (accessed May 16, 2019).
Conroy, Sarah Booth. "Archaeologist Marion Pugh, Digging Up Memories." The Washington Post. July 8, 1996. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/07/08/archaeologist-marion-pugh-digging-up-memories/09f465e7-5900-455e-bcd5-b81828a502d5/?utm_term=.703ff0e84313 (accessed May 16, 2019).
Matthew Williams Stirling and Marion Stirling Pugh Chronology
1896 August 28 -- Matthew Williams Stirling born in Salinas, California to Ariana and John Williams Stirling
1911 May 12 -- Marion Illig born in Middletown, New York
1914-1920 -- Matthew Stirling attended the University of California, Berkeley, receiving his B.A. in Anthropology in 1920. He studied under A.L. Kroeber, T.T. Waterman, and E.W. Gifford.
1917-1919 -- Matthew Stirling served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy during World War I
1920 -- Matthew Stirling's travels to Europe with his parents
1920-1921 -- Matthew Stirling worked as teaching fellow at the University of California, Berkeley and taught William Duncan Strong
1921-1924 -- Matthew Stirling worked at the United States National Museum (USNM), first as a Museum Aide and then as an Assistant Curator of Ethnology
1922 -- Matthew Stirling received Master of Arts degree from George Washington University, studying under Truman Michelson Matthew Stirling went on a trip to the cave country of France and Spain with friend Perry J. Patton
1923 Winter -- Matthew Stirling sent by J. Walter Fewkes to excavate at Weedon (or Weeden) Island, Florida
1924 Spring -- Matthew Stirling resigned from his Smithsonian USNM post
1924 Summer -- Matthew Stirling conducted excavations in Mobridge, South Dakota
1924 July -- Matthew Stirling went on a trip to South America with friend, Perry J. Patton
1924 Winter -- Matthew Stirling continued excavations in Weedon Island, FL
1924-1925 -- Matthew Stirling sold real estate on Weedon Island, Florida to fund the expedition to Papua New Guinea in the winters of 1924 and 1925
1925-1927 -- Matthew Stirling organized and led the American-Dutch Expedition (or Smithsonian Institution-Dutch Colonial Government expedition) to Papua New Guinea
1928 -- Matthew Stirling named Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) at the Smithsonian Institution
1929 March-April -- Matthew Stirling surveyed mounds in Tampa Bay and Calusa areas of Florida
1930s -- Matthew Stirling conducted various archaeological excavations in Georgia and Florida under the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
1930 -- Marion Illig received a Bachelor of Science degree from Rider College From February through April, Mathew Stirling conducted more work on Tampa Bay mounds in Florida In July, Matthew Stirling went to Marfa, Texas to examine pictographs in caves and also went to Deeth, Nevada
1931 September-1932 March -- Matthew Stirling a member of the Latin American Expedition to South and Central America. He studied the Tule/Kuna Indians in Panama and the Jivaro in Ecuador
1931-1933 -- Marion Illig moved to Washington D.C. to attend George Washington University and worked at the BAE as a secretary for Matthew Stirling
1933 December 11 -- Matthew and Marion Stirling married
1933 December-1934 May 5 -- Matthew Stirling supervised Federal Civil Works Administration (or Federal Emergency Relief Administration) projects in Florida, also called Florida Federal Relief (Bradenton, Perico Island, Canaveral Island, and Belle Glade) and BAE excavations in Macon, Georgia
1934 October -- Conducted archaeological work in King, Queen, and Halifax counties in Virginia and Granville City, North Carolina
1935 -- Matthew Stirling acted as the president of the Anthropological Society of Washington Expedition to Guatemala, Honduras, and Yucatan Peninsula to study the Maya and the Quché (or Quiche) Indians from January to February 15, 1935
1935-1936 -- Matthew Stirling acted as the vice president of the American Anthropological Association
1936 -- Matthew Stirling and WPA workers conducted archaeological surveys in southern Florida in July 1936 Matthew and Marion Stirling visited an excavation in Macon, Georgia in Fall 1936 Matthew Stirling supervised archaeological projects in Hillsborough and Dade Counties in Florida
1938 January-March -- Matthew and Marion Stirling take first field trip to Mexico, visiting Tres Zapotes
1938 December 24-1939 April 15 -- First Smithsonian Institution/National Geographic Society Expedition to Mexico with C.W. Weiant. Excavated Tres Zapotes and discovered lower portion of Stela C
1939 -- Matthew Stirling received his first Franklyn L. Burr Award from the National Geographic Society
1939 December 26-1940 April 20 -- Second Smithsonian Institution/National Geographic Society Expedition to Mexico with Dr. Philip Drucker. Excavated Cerro de las Mesas and La Venta
1940 December 29-1941 April 30 -- Third Smithsonian Institution/National Geographic Society Expedition to Mexico with Dr. Philip Drucker. Excavated Cerro de las Mesas and Izapa
1941 -- Matthew and Marion Stirling received the Franklyn L. Burr Award from the National Geographic Society (shared with Richard Hewitt Stewart)
1942 April -- Matthew Stirling visited Dr. Philip Drucker at La Venta
1942 April-June -- Fourth Smithsonian Institution/National Geographic Society Expedition to Mexico. Visited Tuxtla Gutierrez, Zoque, Tzotzil and Chamula Indians, and Palenque
1943 -- Fifth Smithsonian Institution/National Geographic Society Expedition to Mexico with Dr. Waldo R. Wedel. Excavated La Venta Matthew Stirling awarded honorary Doctor of Science from Tampa University
1944 January 28-May -- Sixth Smithsonian Institution/National Geographic Society Expedition to Mexico. Visited Michoacán, Jalisco, Uruapan, Tlaquepaque, and Tarascan Indians from Lake Pátzcuaro and conducted archaeological surveys in Southern Veracruz, Tabasco, and Campeche
1945 January 22-May 31 -- Seventh Smithsonian Institution/National Geographic Society Expedition to Mexico. Excavated La Venta, San Lorenzo, Piedra Parada, and Tapachula
1946 January 26-April -- Eighth Smithsonian Institution/National Geographic Society Expedition to Mexico with Dr. Philip Drucker. Excavated San Lorenzo
1947 -- Matthew Stirling becomes Director of the Bureau of American Ethnology (title changed from "Chief")
1947 December-1948 -- First Smithsonian Institution/ National Geographic Society Expeditions to Panama including Cocle, Balboa, Chitre, Parita (Sixto Pinilla Place), Monagrillo, and El Hatillo
1949 -- Second Smithsonian Institution/ National Geographic Society Expedition to Panama
1951 -- Third Smithsonian Institution/ National Geographic Society Expedition to Panama
1953 -- Fourth Smithsonian Institution/ National Geographic Society Expedition to Panama
1954 -- Marion Stirling elected to the executive board of the Society of Women Geographers
1956-1957 -- Smithsonian Institution/ National Geographic Society Expedition to Ecuador. Excavated in the ManabÍ Province
1957 December 31 -- Matthew Stirling retired as Director of the Bureau of American Ethnology
1958 -- Matthew Stirling received his third Franklyn L. Burr Award from the National Geographic Society
1960-1963 -- Marion Stirling acted as president for the Society of Women Geographers for the first time
1960-1975 -- Matthew Stirling's membership in the National Geographic Society Committee on Research and Exploration
1961 -- Trip to Mexico Marion Stirling's trip to Peru Matthew Stirling collaborated with Dr. L.S.B. Leakey through the NGS Committee on Research and Exploration
1963 -- Trip to Nicaragua
1964 -- Expedition to Costa Rica Trip to Asia
1967 -- International Tuna Match, Bahamas
1968 -- Trip to New Guinea Attended the Cultural Olympics in Mexico City
1969 -- Trip to Turkey, Bali, Etc.
1969-1972 -- Marion Stirling acted as president for the Society of Women Geographers for the second time
1972 -- Trip to Peru, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands Farmer finds upper portion of Stela C, confirming Matthew Stirling's original date as 31 B.C.
1972-1973 -- Trip to Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
1974 -- Marion Stirling established the Mexican Research Fund (now the Latin American Research fund) for the Textile Museum
1975 January 23 -- Matthew Williams Stirling died in Washington D.C.
1977 -- Marion Stirling married Major General John Ramsey Pugh
1985 -- Marion Stirling Pugh received the Distinguished Service Medal from the Peruvian Embassy
1994 -- Death of Major General John Ramsey Pugh Marion Stirling Pugh's trip to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco
1995 -- Marion Stirling Pugh's trip to Antarctica and the Falkland Islands
1996 -- Marion Stirling Pugh's trip to China, and separately to Belize and Honduras
2001 April 24 -- Marion Stirling Pugh died in Tucson, Arizona
Separated Materials:
Film materials were transferred to the Human Studies Film Archive (HSFA).
Provenance:
The bulk of these papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives in 2016 by Matthew and Marion Stirling's grandchildren, Jessica Gronberg and Jeremy Withers.
Restrictions:
The Matthew Williams Stirling and Marion Stirling Pugh papers are open for research.
The scrapbooks listed in Series 1.7 are restricted due to preservation concerns. Please contact the reference archivist for more information.
Access to the Matthew Williams Stirling and Marion Stirling Pugh papers requires an appointment.
An extensive collection of oral histories conducted by Lu Ann Jones throughout the southern United States between 1985-1991. A few oral histories were conducted by Pete Daniel in the early 1980s. Subjects include all facets of agriculture in the south.
Scope and Contents note:
The collection is divided into four series. Series 1: Oral History Transcripts, 1982-1991 are transcribed versions of the oral interviews. Correspondence and/or notes pertaining to the interviewed individual collected or written by the interviewer are filed in this series following the transcription. The majority of the oral histories were done by Lu Ann Jones between1985-1991. There are a few interviews done by Pete Daniel in the early 1980s and some reference copies of oral histories done elsewhere.
This series is divided into eight sub-series: Sub-series 1.1: Arkansas, Sub-series 1.2: Georgia, Sub-series 1.3: Louisiana, Sub-series 1.4: Mississippi, Sub-series 1.5: North Carolina (including transcripts of the Mexican Workers Project in English and Spanish), Sub-series 1.6: South Carolina, Sub-series 1.7: Tennessee, and Sub-series 1.8: Virginia. Files are arranged alphabetically by state and there under by name; within the file materials are arranged chronologically. Interview files may contain transcribed copies of the oral history interviews and subsequent draft copies with corrections by the interviewer or subject. The file also may contain distillations or edited versions of the interview done by the researcher for possible publication. Correspondence and notes files may include Life History Forms, correspondence, newspaper articles, interviewer's notes, business cards, and paper copies of photographs. Signed releases are on file in the registrar's office, NMAH, with copies in the control file of the Archives Center.
Series 2: Project Files and Reference Materials, 1928-2004 contain notes and correspondence kept by Jones in support of the oral history project. This series is divided into four sub-series: Sub-series 2.1: State Files, Sub-series 2.2: Project and Reference Files, 1985-1991, Sub-series 2.3: Reference Publications, Pamphlets and Articles, 1928-2004 and Sub-series 2d: Computer Floppy Disks, 1985 and undated. This series include bills, receipts, photo orders, travel brochures, reference materials, articles, correspondence, fundraising proposals and materials, USDA Extension Service bulletins, product cookbooks, and ephemera. These materials are valuable in documenting the methodology of the oral history project. They are also valuable in detailing the funding and maintenance of the project over its five-year lifespan. There is also a great deal of information on black farmers. This series is arranged alphabetically by state and county or by article/publication title and within the file chronologically.
Series 3: Photographic Prints and Slides, 1987-1991 documenting the individuals interviewed, their homes and businesses, and geographic locations that were studied as part of the oral history project. The series is arranged numerically then chronologically by year. This series is followed by detailed photographic descriptions arranged alphabetically by state then subject. Photograph files contain photographs taken by a Smithsonian photographer or Jones and any copies of photographs supplied by the subject. Most of the photographs are black and white.
Series 4: Original Interview Tapes and Reference Compact Discs (CD), 1986-1991 are the original tapes of the individual interviews conducted by Jones. This series is divided into eight sub-series. Reference numbers for CDs matching the original tapes are noted after the tapes. CDs 495-497 are for the Smithsonian Photographer's Show: Sub-series 4.1: Arkansas, Sub-series 4.2: Georgia, Sub-series 4.3: Louisiana, Sub-series 4.4: Mississippi, Sub-series 4.5: North Carolina (within this sub-series are the transcripts of the Mexican Workers Project there may be an English language transcription as well as one in Spanish), Sub-series 4.6: South Carolina, Sub-series 4.7: Tennessee and Sub-series 4.8: Virginia and Sub-series 4.9: Miscellaneous and Duplicates, within the sub-series tapes are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into four series:
Series 1, Oral History Transcript
Series 2, Project Files
Series 3, Photographic Prints and Slides
Series 4, Original Oral History Interview Tapes and Reference Compact Discs (CDs) are the original interview tapes and the accompanying reference copy cds.
History:
The history of the American South is intricately entwined with the history of agriculture in North America. Until very recently, post 1950, the South was predominately rural and agricultural in both its production and culture. By the 1980s American agriculture, and particularly agriculture in the south, was under attack on various fronts especially cultural, financial, and technological. This assault threatened the very existence of the small and family farm. Many small farming operations went bankrupt and the face of American agriculture was becoming more corporate. It was amidst these troubling times that the Agricultural Division of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History undertook a massive project to document southern agriculture through oral history.
Through the efforts of NMAH staff, Pete Daniel, curator and project director, LuAnn Jones, researcher, and with countless support from staff photographers and personnel, Jones conducted approximately 159 interviews of individual persons, couples and sometimes small groups, in eight southern states over a five year period, 1986-1991. The project was funded by a series of grants from various sources. Not only were oral histories taken but also substantial documentary photographs and slides of the many interviewees. The interviews ranged from individual farmers to individuals at companies and corporations involved with agriculture. The range of crops discussed included tobacco, cotton and rice. The project interviewed a wide range of subjects: male, female, black, white, and Mexican. The project has contributed to at least two books, Mama Learned Us to Work: Farm Women in the New South by LuAnn Jones and Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World by Jacquelyn Dowd Hall and others of which Jones was a contributing author.
Related Collections:
Materials in the Archives Center
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (NMAH.AC.0060)
Kulp Collection of Account Books, 1755-1904 (NMAH.AC.0149)
Robinson and Via Family Papers (NMAH.AC.0475)
William C. Kost Farm Records (NMAH.AC.0481)
Timothy B. Bladen, Southern Maryland Photoprints (NMAH.AC.0767)
Provenance:
A transfer from the Division of History of Technology (Agriculture), NMAH, July 2001
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
23 color Cibachrome photoprints: portraits of farmers at the Carrboro Farmer's Market, Carrboro, North Carolina. Portraits made 1994 in a garage studio setup near the market, prints by JW Labs, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical/Historical note:
Documentary and corporate photographer who worked in New York City and Tokyo for 25 years before moving to North Carolina. Was Tokyo correspondent, Photo District News; photo editor, Business Tokyo; co-author, Women See Woman (Harper & Row, 1977). Photographs published: Sports Illustrated, Life, Time, Fortune, Forbes, Vogue, Interview, The NY Times Magazine, etc. Founding member, Soho Photo Gallery.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Sonia Katchian, November 2001.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. The photographer requests that the Museum notify her or her heirs whenever the Museum anticipates display or reproduction of any of her photographs.,Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Sonia Katchian retains copyright. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Sonia Katchian Carrboro Farmer's Market Project Color Photoprints, 1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Copyright (c) 2001 Sonia Katchian. Gift of the artist. [Note: this credit line must accompany any reproduction or exhibition of photographs in this collection, as stipulated in the Deed of Gift.]
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at ACMarchives@si.edu
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at ACMarchives@si.edu
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Newspapers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
The John K. Parlett Collection of Agricultural Ephemera, 1859-2011, undated, is a collection of operator's instruction manuals, parts illustrations manuals, dealership materials, farming, farm life, and agriculture-related ephemera. The material is from national companies as well as local manufacturers and businesses.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of farming and rural life ephemera, dating from about 1859-2011, and undated. The materials are national in scope and include agricultural ephemera from all regions of the United States. Since Parlett's collecting interest spanned the entire spectrum of agricultural work, the collection is not livestock or crop specific. It covers many types of farming from dairying, beekeeping, poultry, cattle, sheep, and hogs to raising tobacco, small grains, hay and forage. It includes almanacs, operator's manuals, catalogues, promotional materials, pocket ledgers and notebooks, mail order catalogs, state fair advertising and catalogues, livestock care and feeding manuals, correspondence, receipts, guarantees, chemical and fertilizer handbooks, account books, "Ladies'" notebooks and calendars, directories, price lists, corporate "yearbooks," clothing advertisements and catalogues, farming practices handbooks, agent's sales order books, seed guides, National Grange material, farming co-op by-laws and ephemera, agriculture related convention materials, poultry magazines and journals, beekeeping magazines, barn and housing design material, gardening manuals, sales contracts for machinery, appliance manuals, commodity marketing guides, auction catalogues, home canning and meat processing manuals and guides, price lists, pamphlets, sale brochures, and dealer service manuals.
The range and national scope of items in the collection illustrate the progression of invention within agriculture. The machinery manuals not only describe machinery in detail, but break it down to the machinery components, how it is put together and how it is repaired. The invention aspect tracks the development of farm mechanization from hand work with intensive labor requirements to machinery developed to decrease labor costs and numbers while at the same time increasing production. The changes in agricultural technology in the later years of the Industrial Revolution, on the cusp of mechanization and the availability of mail order products for the home and farm, are documented in the collection by advertisements and mail order catalogues, for products purchased in nearby towns and equipment used in farm tasks.
The sizeable mail order component of the collection provides research opportunities into economics and marketing both to an agricultural community and an urban community. The demographic changes resulting from increased urbanization and employment opportunities in manufacturing -- and how small farms coped with them -- are documented in the collection by detailed descriptions of who was expected to do what tasks and how those tasks were accomplished. With the beginning of mail order by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872, mail order became an integral part of life in rural America. Mail order catalogs allowed rural residents to buy new equipment and follow the latest trends in fashion or household appliances without ever leaving the farm. Mail order also allowed rural American to reap the benefits of growing mass production. Homemade clothing gave way to ready-to-wear clothes sold through retail outlets and through mail order catalogues. Likewise tools and machinery that had been locally built and maintained gave way to parts and machinery that could be purchased through mail order as well as local equipment company dealers. Mail-order buying was made even more accessible in 1896 with the first rural free delivery (RFD) service.
Gender and ethnic aspects of farm life are documented in the collection. For example, sausage, lard, pudding making and similar tasks were traditionally done by women; labor was often divided along racial or ethnic lines and used different machinery and tools for various types of farms in different locations. The collection has a sizeable component of community materials related to farm life such as county and state fair catalogues, National Grange materials, and instructional booklets given away by feed and machinery manufacturers. "How to" booklets and pamphlets covering virtually every aspect of the farm and farm work targeted members of the farm family and its labor force.
The collection complements the Smithsonian's invention holdings as innovation was taking place on the farm as well as in the factory throughout the Industrial Revolution. The machinery manuals with their operation and repair guidelines, the schematic drawings and details on "new and improved" machinery provide a cohesive span of primary material to inform the evolution of farm work from hand and physical labor involving many people to the more mechanized farming capable of being done by one farmer alone or with minimal family or hired help.
The collection includes the business records (1971-1981, undated) for Custom Auto and Equipment Sales of Manassas, Virginia, a John Deere dealership. These records include equipment inventories, a John Deere Consumer Products Dealer Parts Administration Manual, JD Dart operators manual, and a Sperry New Holland dealer sales aid manual, sales accounts, all of which help document the transition from manual based accounting systems to product specific (in this case JD Dart for John Deere) computer based systems. This portion of the collection is illustrative of suburbanization. With the farm crisis of the early 1980s, Custom Auto and Equipment ceased selling farm machinery and concentrated on the urban aspect of the John Deere brand: lawnmowers, tillers and those pieces of machinery used in housing developments being built in and around Manassas. The market for farming equipment nearly ceased to exist and in an effort to salvage their business they adapted to the environment around them.
This collection also includes sales materials for Todd Equipment Company located in Chesapeake, Virginia with a branch office in Hagerstown, Maryland. Todd serves farm equipment dealers in the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. They carry an extensive line of machinery catering to all types of agricultural cultivation, care, and harvesting. As of 2015 they are still in business.
The collection is arranged in eight series with items arranged chronologically and in some series alphabetically.
Series 1, Allis-Chalmers, AGCO Allis, and Deutz Allis, 1957-1980, undated, is arranged chronologically. This series contains operator's manuals, sales ephemera, brochures, service manuals, setting up directions, a lease plan, and a sales book. This series includes brand names AGCO Allis, Allis-Chalmers, Athens Plow Company, Baldwin, and Jeoffroy Manufacturing Incorporated, L&M
Series 2, Case, Case-IH, International Harvester, 1903-1986, undated. This series is arranged chronologically. This series includes brand names McCormick-Deering, Farmall, International-Farmall, and McCormick. It includes sales brochures, price lists, operator and maintenance manuals, product guides, advertisements, pamphlets and brochures, catalogues, and a program from McCormick Day, 1931 in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Series 3, John Deere and Company, John Deere Plow Company, 1910-2008, undated, is arranged chronologically. This series contains publications, operator's and maintenance manuals, sales brochures and pamphlets, sales manuals, catalogues, product magazines, and safety manuals.
Series 4, Sperry-New Holland, 1975-1984, undated, is arranged chronologically. This series contains operator's and maintenance manuals, sales brochures and pamphlets.
Series 6, Custom Auto and Equipment Sales of Manassas, Virginia Business Records, 1971-1981, undated. These records include equipment inventories, John Deere Consumer Products Dealer Parts Administration Manual, JD Dart operator,s manual, and a Sperry New Holland dealer sales aid manual, and sales accounts.
Series 6, Todd Farm Equipment, Incorporated, 1973-1980, undated, is arranged chronologically. This series contains the contents of Todd's sales manual detailing various companies and their products. The series includes sales brochures, equipment specifications and capabilities as outlined in corporate sales material, and a Todd catalogue.
Series 7, Assorted Companies, Catalogues, Periodicals, and Publications, 1859-2011, undated. This series is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically for the undated material. This series contains material from a variety of companies and purveyors of farm-related equipment, products, and disciplines as well as farm culture-related materials. This series includes mail order catalogues, sales and instructional pamphlets, almanacs, advertisements, government publications, magazines, catalogues, convention and souvenir brochures, National Grange materials, manuals, cook books, record books, price lists, county and state fair ephemera, beekeeping-related materials, dairying related publications and equipment brochures, operator's manuals, and the auction catalogue from the Parlett Farm-Life Museum auction.
Series 8, Poultry, 1912-1949, undated, is arranged alphabetically. This series contains material related to the production of poultry. It includes magazines, advertisements for poultry products, and educational materials related to poultry.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in eight series.
Series 1, Allis-Chalmers, AGCO Allis, and Deutz Allis, 1957-1980, undated.
Series 2, Case, Case-IH, International Harvester, 1903-1986, undated.
Series 3, John Deere and Company, John Deere Plow Company, 1910-2008, undated.
Series 4, Sperry-New Holland, 1975-1984, undated.
Series 6, Custom Auto and Equipment Sales of Manassas, Virginia Business Records, 1971-1981, undated.
Series 6, Todd Farm Equipment, Incorporated, 1973-1980, undated.
Series 7, Assorted Companies, Catalogues, Periodicals, and Publications, 1859-2011, undated.
Series 8, Poultry, 1912-1949, undated.
Biographical / Historical:
John K. Parlett (1937-2005) was born in St. Mary's County, Maryland, and was a life-long resident of the county and state. He was a farmer and businessman and served as a St. Mary's County Commissioner from 1974-1978 and as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1981-1986.
Parlett began collecting farm equipment and agriculture-related ephemera in the 1960s. His son, John K. Parlett, Jr., stated, "The more he collected the more his passion grew." Even though Parlett lived in Maryland, his collecting was national in scope and included materials he and his wife bought on collecting trips around the country. Parlett expanded his collection of equipment and agricultural ephemera after retiring in 1986. John K. Parlett, Jr., stated, "he [Parlett Sr.] caught 'the antique bug' . . . [they] went out almost every weekend collecting more things." Parlett did not merely collect old machinery, he sought and acquired catalogues, equipment operation manuals, posters, ephemera, county and state fair ephemera, and even records from an agricultural equipment dealer, Custom Auto and Equipment Sales, in Manassas, Virginia.
Between 1988 and 1993 the collection grew so large that Parlett built a 60,000 square foot building on his farm to hold the machinery component. He converted many farm sheds, turkey and chicken houses into display areas and a library. Parlett eventually founded the John K. Parlett Farm Life Museum of Southern Maryland located on his farm, known as Green Manor. Beginning in 1996, the museum was opened annually for the Farm Life Festival, benefitting the St. Mary's County Christmas in April program, founded by Parlett. The collection was open by appointment for study; the local Amish community consulted some of the materials in the collection for help in repairing their outdated equipment. Parlett was highly respected in collecting circles. He was a tenacious and indefatigable collector who made an effort to collect all types of agricultural machinery as well as archival materials relating to farm life. Rare or obsolete items are included in this collection, as are ephemeral items relating to farm and ranch life. "If it was used on the farm or in rural America in the last 100 years, chances are it'll be at the Southern Maryland Farm Life Festival," enthused Agrifarm.com in 2008 when describing the Parlett holdings.
The last year for the Farm Life Festival was 2009. The Parlett Collection, consisting of 1007 lots of machinery, tools, tractors, household, and general store items, was auctioned by Aumann Auctions in the fall of 2011. At the auction, some materials and machinery were purchased by The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan and other museums throughout the United States.
NMAH Curators Pete Daniel and Larry M. Jones surveyed the collection while Parlett was still alive. Jones was credited with advising Parlett while he was building the collection. Jones commented on the collection in 2005, "I was blown away by what he had put together; here was a man who turned an interest into one of the best rural farm life collections I've ever seen. And John has such an eye for good and appropriate stuff. It's just a sensational collection." He reportedly wrote a memo suggesting the Museum "investigate the possibility" of acquiring portions of the collection if and when Parlett was willing to donate items. There was no further discussion of acquiring any of the collection until 2010, when Craig Orr, archivist-curator, talked with John K. Parlett Jr., who expressed a willingness to donate the archival materials as the entire collection was being prepared for auction. Orr and Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., archives specialist, surveyed the collection in early 2011 and selected the materials included in the collection.
Related Materials:
Materias in the Archives Center
Maid of Cotton, Cotton Council Collection
Southern Agriculture Oral History
Robinson and Via Family Papers
Louisan Mamer Papers
Harness-Maker's Account Books
Memphis Cotton Carnival Records
New England Merchant and Farmer Account Book
Hagan Brothers Account Books
Product Cookbook Collection
Maryland Farm Diary (1879-1894)
Bermis B. Brown Collection
Cincinnati Boss Collection
William E. Kost Farm Records, 1939-1989
Kent Family Records, 1879-1933
Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life)
Collection items related to farming and agriculture including farm clothing, home arts materials such as needlework, quilts, sewing, kitchen appliances, farming implements and machinery, and 4-H objects. The Lemelson Center has assisted in acquiring objects and archival collections in the field of invention and innovation in various divisions of the National Museum of American History.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Catherine Parlett, widow of John K. Parlett, in 2012.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for use.
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.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of the Alma Thomas paper is provided by The Walton Family Foundation and The Friends of Alma Thomas
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. The photographer requests that the Museum notify her or her heirs whenever the Museum anticipates display or reproduction of any of her photographs.,Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Sonia Katchian retains copyright. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sonia Katchian Carrboro Farmer's Market Project Color Photoprints, 1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Copyright (c) 2001 Sonia Katchian. Gift of the artist. [Note: this credit line must accompany any reproduction or exhibition of photographs in this collection, as stipulated in the Deed of Gift.]
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. The photographer requests that the Museum notify her or her heirs whenever the Museum anticipates display or reproduction of any of her photographs.,Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Sonia Katchian retains copyright. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sonia Katchian Carrboro Farmer's Market Project Color Photoprints, 1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Copyright (c) 2001 Sonia Katchian. Gift of the artist. [Note: this credit line must accompany any reproduction or exhibition of photographs in this collection, as stipulated in the Deed of Gift.]
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. The photographer requests that the Museum notify her or her heirs whenever the Museum anticipates display or reproduction of any of her photographs.,Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Sonia Katchian retains copyright. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sonia Katchian Carrboro Farmer's Market Project Color Photoprints, 1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Copyright (c) 2001 Sonia Katchian. Gift of the artist. [Note: this credit line must accompany any reproduction or exhibition of photographs in this collection, as stipulated in the Deed of Gift.]
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. The photographer requests that the Museum notify her or her heirs whenever the Museum anticipates display or reproduction of any of her photographs.,Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Sonia Katchian retains copyright. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sonia Katchian Carrboro Farmer's Market Project Color Photoprints, 1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Copyright (c) 2001 Sonia Katchian. Gift of the artist. [Note: this credit line must accompany any reproduction or exhibition of photographs in this collection, as stipulated in the Deed of Gift.]
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. The photographer requests that the Museum notify her or her heirs whenever the Museum anticipates display or reproduction of any of her photographs.,Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Sonia Katchian retains copyright. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sonia Katchian Carrboro Farmer's Market Project Color Photoprints, 1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Copyright (c) 2001 Sonia Katchian. Gift of the artist. [Note: this credit line must accompany any reproduction or exhibition of photographs in this collection, as stipulated in the Deed of Gift.]
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. The photographer requests that the Museum notify her or her heirs whenever the Museum anticipates display or reproduction of any of her photographs.,Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Sonia Katchian retains copyright. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sonia Katchian Carrboro Farmer's Market Project Color Photoprints, 1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Copyright (c) 2001 Sonia Katchian. Gift of the artist. [Note: this credit line must accompany any reproduction or exhibition of photographs in this collection, as stipulated in the Deed of Gift.]
