Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection 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.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection 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.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection 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.
Photographs documenting archeological sites in Mexico, including Chichen Itza, Mitla, Palenque, Texcotzingo, Uxmal, Xochicalco, Quirigua, and Copan. Some of the prints were originally framed and captioned; these may have formed an exhibit or display, possibly in Holmesʹs office. Photographers include Allison V. Armour, Alfred Percival Maudsley, and E. H. Thompson.
Biographical/Historical note:
William Henry Holmes (1846-1933) was an artist, geologist, and archeologist who spent most of his career with the United States Geological Survey of the Territories, United States Geological Survey, Bureau of American Ethnology, and Department of Anthropology of the Smithsonian. From 1894-1897, he was the head of anthropology at the Field Columbian Museum (Field Museum of Natural History) and on the staff of the University of Chicago. During this time, he carried out investigations of ancient ruins in the Yucatan and other areas of Mesoamerica as a member of an expedition of Allison V. Armour. Many of the prints in this collection seem to relate to that expedition, and similar images were published in Holmesʹs reports in the Field Columbian Museum Anthropological Series, volume 1, number 1, 1895. Holmes served as head curator for the US National Museum Department of Anthropology from 1897-1902 and head of the BAE from 1902-1909.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 73-44, NAA Photo Lot 66B, USNM ACC 89688
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Photo Lot 66B has been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 73-44. These photographs were also collected by William Henry Holmes and form part of this collection.
Correspondence by Holmes can be found throughout the National Anthropological Archives in MS 7206, the records of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and the records of the Department of Anthropology.
Manuscripts and notes by Holmes can be found throughout the National Anthropological Archives in MS 4698, MS 2125, MS 7112, and MS 7570.
The William Henry Holmes Papers, 1870-1931 (SIA RU007084), are held by the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Photo lot 73-44, William Henry Holmes photograph collection relating to archeological sites in Mexico and Mesoamerica, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photographs and copies of drawings documenting the structures at Mitla archeological site, including the Columns Group and palace building and associated sculptures. There is also a photograph of the Beau Relief at Palenque, published in the Field Columbian Museum's journal "Anthropology." Some of the copy photographs were probably made by De Lancey Gill.
Biographical/Historical note:
Edgar Lee Hewett (1865-1946) was an archeologist and anthropologist known for his work in the American Southwest and his role in the passage of the Antiquities Act. Born in Illinois, Hewett taught at several country schools before becoming Superintendent of Schools in Missouri and Colorado (1889-1898) It was during his superintendency in Colorado that he conducted his first archeological field work on the Pajarito Plateau and at Pecos. He continued in education administration and served as president (1898-1903) of the Normal University at Las Vegas, New Mexico, where he organized archeology courses and led field expeditions. In 1906, Hewett left education to work as Director of American Research for the Archaeological Institute of America, a position he held until his death. Over three seasons (1910-1912), Hewett excavated the Maya site of Quiringua and explored Maya sites in Guatemala. His Maya studies were exhibited at the San Diego Museum, which he founded and directed (1917-1929), and published in his second major book, Ancient Life in Mexico and Central America (1935).
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 172
Location of Other Archival Materials:
This collection has been relocated from Photo Lot 123.
Additional Hewett photographs are held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 78 and Photo Lot 14.
Correspondence from Hewett is held in the National Anthropological Archives in the Ales Hrdlicka papers, John Peabody Harrington papers, Neil Merton Judd papers, records of the Bureau of American Ethnology, MS 4558, and MS 4372(8).
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Photo Lot 172, Edgar L. Hewett photograph collection relating to Mitla, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Photographs made by Désiré Charnay depicting the Grand Palace at Mitla, the Governor's Palace at Uxmal, a convent at Chichen Itza, and a large stone tablet at Palenque.
Biographical/Historical note:
Claude Joseph Désiré Charnay (1828-1915), a French archeologist and pioneer of expeditionary photography, explored and documented Mexico and Central America. He was commissioned by the French government in 1857 to collect artifacts and document archeological sites in Mexico. Charnay completed three tours between 1858-1860, 1880-1882, and 1886; the latter two trips were funded by New York resident Pierre Lorillard and were largely photographic expeditions. Charnay later went to Madagascar (1863), North America (1867-70), South America (1875), Australia and Oceania (1878), and Central America (1880-83). He was among the first to use photography to record Meso-American archaeological sites, as well as the Indigenous peoples of Mexico whom he encountered.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 4449
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Casts made by Charnay held in the anthropology collections of the National Museum of Natural History in accessions 042420 and 013211.
Contained in:
Numbered manuscripts 1850s-1980s (some earlier)
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Photo Lot 4449, Désiré Charnay photographs of Mitla, Uxmal, Chichen Itza, and Palenque, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
This collection contains 78 black-and-white negatives and 35 gelatin silver prints taken by Bernard J. Edley in 1948-1949. The images depict scenes of everyday life among the Santa Cruz Indians of Quintana Roo State and the Tzotzil Indians of Chamula, Chiapas State. Also present are views of archaeological sites at Monte Alban and Mitla in Oaxaca State.
Arrangement note:
Negatives: organized in individual sleeves; arranged by image number.
Prints: organized in folders; arranged by image number.
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 Mexico -- Mexico -- Chiapas (State) Search this
Excavations (Archaeology) -- Mexico -- Oaxaca (State) Search this
Indians of Mexico -- Mexico -- Quintana Roo (State) Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Black-and-white negatives
Gelatin silver prints
Citation:
Bernard J. Edley prints and negatives, National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution (image, negative or catalog number).
Wandmalereien von Mitla : eine mexikanische Bilderschrift in Fresko, nach eigenen an Ort und Stelle aufgenommenen Zeichnungen / herausgegeben und erläutert von Dr. Eduard Seler
