Photographs made by George H. Stathes in northern Nigeria, Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda during the mid 1960s. Stathes' photographs depict people, agriculture, markets, fishing and fisheries, roads, a cemetery, ceremonies and dances, art, and Rwenzori Mountains.
Biographical/Historical note:
George H. Stathes (1925-1996) worked for the Ford Foundation and Texaco Oil, mostly in Nigeria.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 99-10
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Abuja pottery collected by Stathes held in the Department of Anthropology collections in accession 2010265.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Transportation Search this
Extent:
4.66 Cubic feet (20 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Cyanotypes
Photoengravings
Drawings
Date:
1871-1892
Scope and Contents:
Most of the collection consists of drawings, both pen and ink and pencil, photoengravings and photographs and blueprints of fish, fishermen, fishing gear, nets, traps, seines, fishing vessels both small and large, and fish processing. Some are identified by type, some by location; others lack specific identification. Many carry comments and directions for reduction. These may have been illustrations for annual or other reports and publications. Many of the photographs were taken in the 1880's and 90's. The key to a number of them is in U.S. National Museum Bulletin No. 27, which consists of descriptive catalogues of the collections sent by the United States to the International Fisheries Exhibition held in London in 1883.2 Where a photograph has been identified in Bulletin No. 27, a notation of the appropriate page number has been made on the back of the photo.
Also included is a bound, handwritten journal of the Commission with entries that relate to official actions such as its establishment, its appropriations, and Congressional authorizations for specific activities. These identify the statute or House or Senate journal entry that is applicable. The entries run from February 9, 1871 to December 24, 1892. There is an index by subject. There are some handwritten notes about fishing vessels made by Captain J. W. Collins and his partial draft manuscript describing fishing vessels. A draft of his annual report for 1884 is also included. A small amount of correspondence relates to descriptions of fishing vessels as well.
Historical Note:
The United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, established in 1871, launched and carried out the first sustained study of marine biology in the United States. It was instrumental in the artificial propagation of fish, thus increasing the country's fish resources and in concentrating attention on the preservation of natural resources. In 1877 the Commission initiated the collection of detailed and reliable data on American commercial fisheries, their modernization and improvement.
The immediate origin of the Fish Commission lay in a dispute in southern New England between the owners of traps (nets, weirs, or other means of capturing large quantities of fish) and a much larger group of fishermen who fished from small boats or the shore with single lines. Accusations that traps were responsible for the diminution in the supply of coastal fish raged. Spencer Fullerton Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, with a keen interest in marine biology had followed the dispute closely. He recognized that the practical work related to its solution would contribute to proving the utilitarian value of science and provide excellent opportunities for basic marine biological research. Backed by prominent friends and his own knowledge of the political dynamics of Washington he sought a congressional appropriation for an extended investigation of coastal fisheries.
At the request of Henry L. Dawes, chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives to whom Baird had turned for help, he outlined in a letter of January 3, 1971 the dispute in southern New England, including a proposal for a commission charged with determining the scientific reason for the decrease in coastal species and headed by a mediator empowered to consult with the states and seek a fair solution. As it shortly emerged from Congress the resolution established the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries. This created a body with no time limits, and without restriction as to area, thus opening the way to a national investigation. The head of this new agency was to be appointed by the President, to be an officer of the government and to serve without additional pay. With its basic authorization assured, a $5,000 appropriation was quickly approved and Spencer Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was appointed Commissioner by President Grant. He took the oath of office on March 8, 1871.
While its appropriations for the propagation of fish far exceeded those for research, the Commission on Fish and Fisheries was influential in promoting scientific development in the federal government. In 1881 the Congress at Commissioner Baird's request, appropriated $190,000 for a sea going vessel, the Albatross, especially equipped for marine biology. He settled on Wood's Hole in Massachusetts as the site for a permanent scientific station and arranged for the purchase of the land by private subscribers such as the Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University and Williams College. Such institutions had a right to send a specialist to the station to do research. The marine biological laboratory at Wood's Hole developed into a world famous research institution.
In 1903 the independent commission became the Bureau of Fisheries in the Department of Commerce and Labor. The Bureau was transferred to the Department of the Interior in 1939 and in 1940 was merged with another bureau to become the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Provenance:
Collection donated by the Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior, circa 1940.
About 1940 when the Bureau of Fisheries became part of the Department of the Interior and was renamed the Fish and Wildlife Service, most of these photographs were given to Mr. Frank Taylor of the U. S. National Museum, Department of the Interior. The collection was transferred to the Division of Transportation of the NMAH in 19 _. The collection was transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Transportation on April 10, 1987.
Many of the photographs, particularly those identified in Bulletin No. 27 of the U. S. National Museum were taken by Thomas W. Smillie on the staff of the Smithsonian and also of the U.S. National Museum.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
2.35 Cubic feet (consisting of 5 boxes, 1 folder, 1 oversize folder, 3 map case folders, plus digital images of some collection material. )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Print advertising
Correspondence
Recipes
Advertising mail
Trade cards
Commercial catalogs
Advertising fliers
Mail order catalogs
Advertising cards
Advertising
Illustrations
Printed materials
Business records
Business letters
Trade literature
Trade catalogs
Printed material
Reports
Periodicals
Invoices
Sales catalogs
Receipts
Ephemera
Letterheads
Manuals
Business cards
Sales records
Printed ephemera
Catalogs
Sales letters
Legal documents
Publications
Catalogues
Business ephemera
Date:
1791-1964
bulk 1840-1925
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Accounting and Bookkeeping forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
The meat category primarily covers beef, pork, and seafood. Material related to seafood, including clams, oysters, fish, and shellfish, is significant. Additional animal protein sources may be present, especially within the recipes. Several professional associations documents and promotional materials are included. For chicken and other fowl, see subject category Poultry.
Materials represent a sampling of transactional records such as bills, invoices and receipts, marketing material, shipping services for goods, butchering, and preparation for consumption.
Arrangement:
Meat is arranged in three subseries.
Business Records and Marketing Material
Genre
Subject
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Missing Title
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Meat is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
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.
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Meat, 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).
Jordan, D. S. & Eigenmann, C. H. 1889 ["1889*"]. Report of the Commissioner, United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. 14 (for 1886) ((art. 3)): 395.
Talwar, Brendan S., Anderson, Brooke, Avalos‐Castillo, Cristopher G., del Pilar Blanco‐Parra, María, Briones, Alejandra, Cardeñosa, Diego, Carlson, John K., Charvet, Patricia, Cotton, Charles F., Crysler, Zoe, Derrick, Danielle H., Heithaus, Michael R., Herman, Katelyn B., Koubrak, Olga, Kulka, David W., Kyne, Peter M., Lasso‐Alcalá, Oscar M., Mejía‐Falla, Paola A., Morales‐Saldaña, Jorge Manuel, Naranjo‐Elizondo, Beatriz, Navia, Andrés F., Pacoureau, Nathan, Peréz‐Jiménez, Juan C., Pollom, Riley A., Rigby, Cassandra L. et al. 2022. "Extinction risk, reconstructed catches and management of chondrichthyan fishes in the Western Central Atlantic Ocean." Fish and Fisheries, 23, (5) 1150–1179. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12675.
Report on the Discovery and Investigation of Fishing Grounds, made by the Fish Commission Steamer Albatross during a Cruise along the Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, with Notes on the Gulf Fisheries
Collins, Joseph W. 1887. "Report on the Discovery and Investigation of Fishing Grounds, made by the Fish Commission Steamer Albatross during a Cruise along the Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, with Notes on the Gulf Fisheries." Report of the Commissioner - United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, 13 217–305, Ten plates.
Folders 6-7 Swan, James G., 1882-1896. Swan served as an assistant and collector for the U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries and the U. S. National Museum. Most of the correspondence for 1887 regards a proposed expedition by Swan and Albert P. Nibla...
Container:
Box 127 of 154
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Inquiries related to specimens should be directed to the appropriate museum registrar.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 189, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda
Folder 8 Townsend, Charles C. - Townsend, Charles Haskins. Correspondents include Charles Haskins Townsend of the U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries (1884-1900).
Container:
Box 132 of 154
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Inquiries related to specimens should be directed to the appropriate museum registrar.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 189, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda
Folders 3-10 Verrill, Addison Emery, 1881-1907. From 1871-1887, Verrill was in charge of the scientific work of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries in Southern New England. Most of the correspondence concerns Verrill's work organizing go...
Container:
Box 136 of 154
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Inquiries related to specimens should be directed to the appropriate museum registrar.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 189, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, Correspondence and Memoranda
Smith, D. G. 1994. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. No. 566: 19.
Jordan, D. S. & Davis, B. M. 1891 ["1891*"]. Report of the Commissioner, United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. 16 (for fiscal year ending June 30, 1889): 606.
Type Status:
Paralectotype
Syntype
Place:
Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida, United States, North America
Smith, D. G. 1994. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. No. 566: 19.
Jordan, D. S. & Davis, B. M. 1891 ["1891*"]. Report of the Commissioner, United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. 16 (for fiscal year ending June 30, 1889): 606.
Type Status:
Paralectotype
Syntype
Place:
Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida, United States, North America
Roberts, Tyson R. and Baird, I. 1995. Rapid assessment of fish and fisheries for the Xe Nam Noi-Xe Pian hydroscheme in southern Lao PDR. Wildlife Conservation Society.
