The Squier collection consists primarily of glass plate negatives made by Squier in the Central Andes region of Peru from 1862 to 1868 while he served as the United States Commissioner to Peru.
Scope and Contents:
The Squier collection consists primarily of glass plate negatives made by Squier in the Central Andes region of Peru from 1862 to 1868 while he served as the United States Commissioner to Peru. A few of the negatives measure 6.5 x 8.5 inches but the overwhelming majority of them are stereoscopic. Each stereoscopic negative has a notation in Squier's hand etched into the emulsion. The bulk of these Squier made in Cusco and the Cusco region and include depictions of colonial and archaeological Inka (Inca) architecture and antiquities, and Spanish architecture. The negatives he made in Lima and Lima Province, and the Trujillo, Ancash, Puno, Ayacucho, and Arequipa regions also depict Inka or Central Andres (which includes Chimú) antiquities and Inka colonial architecture. In addition, there are representations of objects, contemporary streets scenes and village scenes, and a few negatives made in Bolivia. The few prints in the collection are copy photographs made of Squier's drawings.
Arrangement note:
Negatives Arranged by negative number (N18828-N19139)
Prints Arranged by print number (P04466, P04467, P18525)
Biographical/Historical note:
Ephraim George Squier (1821-1888) was born Bethlehem, New York, and as a young man pursued several career paths until he settled on archaeology in about 1847. This interest led to the publication of the 1848 Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, which he co-authored with Edwin H. Davis and represents the Smithsonian Institution's first official publication. His fascination with the antiquities of the Western Hemisphere encouraged him to secure political posts in Central and South America that would allow him to pursue these interests. From 1846 to 1869, Squier worked in various diplomatic positions throughout Latin America, and it was then that he undertook archaeological and ethnological field work. Originally appointed by President Lincoln, from 1862 to 1868, Squier was the United States Commissioner to Peru. His studies and travels produced another extremely popular book, Peru: Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas (1877). Several of the photographs in the NMAI's collection appear as (slightly altered) illustrations in this book. Squier's papers and the original photographs from his negatives are housed at the Tulane University Library. Squier died in Brooklyn, New York, in 1888.
Related Materials:
Papers of Ephraim George Squier,1835–1872; Tulane University Library.
Provenance:
Historically, the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation managed all photographic materials separately. This collection description represents current management practices of organizing and contextualizing related archival materials.
Restrictions:
Access is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment.
Rights:
Restricted: Cultural Sensitivity
Topic:
Incas -- Peru -- Antiquities -- Photographs Search this
Ephraim George Squier collection of negatives and prints, circa 1862-1868, National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution (negative, slide or catalog number).
The S.K. Lothrop collection primarily contains negatives, photographic prints, and lantern slides made by Lothrop while employed by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. Lothrop traveled on behalf of the Museum to New Mexico, Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Peru. The four New Mexico negatives in this collection date from 1915, before Lothrop worked for the Museum, and depict scenes around Zuni. During his 1924 trip to El Salvador, Lothrop photographed volcanos, archaeological sites, antiquities, the landscape, villages, and native peoples engaged in pottery and rope making, food preparation, house building, and ceremonial activities. The 1925 views particularly concentrate on Argentina (but also Chile and Peru). The Argentina materials include views made in the Tierra del Fuego (also part of Chile), including depictions of the daily lives and ceremonial activities of natives peoples of Tierra del Fuego--Selk'nam (Ona) and Yámana (Yagán/Yahgan); the Patagonia landscape; and excavations undertaken by the Museum's La Plata Expedition. The 1928 Guatemala views include depictions of Mayan ruins of Zaculeu and of Tz'utuhil Maya (Tzutuhil/Zutigil), Quiché Maya (Quiche), and Kaqchikel Maya (Cakchiquel) people engaged in weaving, rope making, canoeing, and ceremonial actitivies. The collection also contains photographs made by Lothrop before he worked for the Museum, including 1915 views of effigy mounds in Wisconsin and views at Hopi, Acoma, and Santa Clara; 1917 views of Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, and El Salvador; and 1918 views of Guatemala, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Nicaragua.
Samuel Kirkland Lothrop was an archaeologist and photographer who extensively traveled and worked throughout Central America and South America. George Gustav Heye originally hired Lothrop to research native Guatemalan and El Salvadoran textiles and pottery. He subsequently excavated on behalf of the Museum of the American Indian in such places as the Tierra del Fuego. Here he photographed indigenous communities who would not survive the twentieth century as a distinct culture group. In 1923, he also photographed the activities of the Hendricks-Hodge Hawikku Expedition excavations. In addition to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, the Peabody Museum and the Carnegie Institute sponsored his research and archaeological work.
Provenance:
Historically, the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation managed all photographic and related manuscript collections separately. This collection description represents current management practices of organizing and contextualizing related archival materials.
Restrictions:
Access is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment.
Rights:
Copyright: National Museum of the American Indian
Topic:
Indians of Central America -- Guatemala -- Photographs Search this
Indians of Central America -- El Salvador -- Photographs Search this
Fuegians -- Social life and customs -- Photographs Search this
Excavations (Archaeology) -- Argentina -- Photographs Search this
Genre/Form:
Lantern slides
Photographs
Negatives
Photographic prints
Citation:
S. K. Lothrop collection of negatives, photographs and lantern slides, 1915-1928, National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution (negative, slide or catalog number).
