The material consists mostly of photographic prints. A few negatives, photomechanical prints, tintypes, drawings, newspaper clippings, notes, and letters are also included. Much of the material is annotated. In part, the file was assembled for or relates to many accessions and cataloging units of the division.
The material was received from professionals and amateurs, mostly working in North America. The images are of artifactual and skeletal specimens, fradulent specimens, collections of specimens, sites, excavations, site features, ruins, petroglyphs, and field parties. A few are reproductions of maps and portraits of native people. Some of the specimens are in the Smithsonianʹs collections, but many are not.
Included among the many subjects are photographs of Dighton Rock in Massachusetts; many ruins of the 1931 Moundville, Alabama, excavation; Tlingit burial boxes; excavations, specimens, and Aleut portraits taken by Waldemar I. Jochelsonʹs Ethnological Section of the Riaboushinsky Expedition, 1909-1912; Richard Wetherillʹs party in Mancos Canyon, Colorado, and F. S. Hempsteadʹs Archaeological and Topographic Map of Portsmouth," [Ohio].
Some of the material relates to the work of Charles L. Bernheimer in Utah, Burnham S. Colburn in Georgia and North Carolina, Thomas Featherstonehaugh in Florida, Otto William Geist in Alaska, A. T. Hill in Nebraska, Walter Hough in Arizona (for the Gates-United States National Museum Expedition, 1901), George Langford in Illinois, Henry Montgomery in North Dakota, Clarence B. Moore in Florida, Henri F. Pittier in Costa Rica, and F. B. Stebbins in Tennessee. Collections are those of Charles Artes (filed Indiana), Thomas Beckwith (filed Missouri), C. W. Branch (filed West Indies), Burham S. Colburn Cherokee relics (filed North Carolina), James Pillars (filed Ohio), Governor Price (frauds from New Mexico), Ephraim George Squier and Edwin Hamilton Davis (filed Ohio).
The material is from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas Utah, Virginia, Washington, Costa Rica, British Columbia, Canada, New Zealand, Nova Scotia, South Pacific, and West Indies.
The works of many photographers are included. Among them are John K. Hillers, William Henry Jackson, Sumner W. Matteson, Edgar A. Mearns, Victor Mindeleff, and Timothy H. OʹSullivan.
For those who are searching for anthropologically substantive materials, special note should be made of the Manuscript and Pamphlet File. A potpourri of documents, the file includes correspondence, notes, drawings, maps, photographs, printed and processed materials, paper specimens, reports, writings, catalogs, motion picture film (now in the Smithsonian's Human Studies Film Archives), bibliographies, and other types of documents. Of concern is a wide variety of subjects such as anthropological specimens, museology and museums, Smithsonian history, archaeological and ethnological methods, exhibits, expeditions, history of anthropology, and so forth.
The file seems to have been maintained in the Division of Ethnology — in one document it was referred to as Herbert W. Krieger's morgue — and the subject matter is largely ethnological. Nevertheless, some documents relate to archeology and physical anthropology. The file also contains administrative materials, such as records relating to the Department of Anthropology's use of Work Projects Administration workers during the 1930s. In addition, the file is the main location of materials not generally accepted as being strictly anthropological in the modern sense. It includes, for example, material on period costumes, fish and fisheries, whaling, religions, armor, biblical studies, modern appliances, the seal industry, European music and musical instruments, lace, aeronautics, and other similar subjects. In addition, the file includes sets of papers of Edwin H. Hawley ,Walter Hough, Otis T. Mason, Talcott Williams and Thomas Wilson.
Some documents, both primary and secondary research materials, concern the following cultural groups and geographic areas: Arabs, Bannock, Baubi, Blackfoot, British Columbia, Caddo, Carib, Chinook, Cochiti, Comanche, Cossacks, Cuna, Delaware, Diegueño, District of Columbia, Dyak, Eskimo, Europe, Fox, Goajira, Haida, Hawaii, Hittites, Hupa, India, Innuit, Iran, Ireland, Jamomadi, Japan, Jivaro, Kabyles, Kiowa, Kirghese, Klamath, Korea, Luiseño, Madagascar, Madiera, Maidu, Makah, Maori, Mataco, Maya, Micmac, Micronesia, Mission, Modoc, Mohave, Mongolia, Moro, Morocco, Naltunnetunne, Nanticoke, Narragansett, Navaho, New Guinea, Nez Perce, Nubia, Omaha, Onandaga, Osage, Oto, Papua, Parsee, Pawnee, Peru, Philippines, Pomo, Pueblo, Puerto Rico, Pygmies, Quichua, Quinaielt, Samoa, Sauk, Seminole, Seri, Shoshoni, Spain, Tahiti, Tesuque, Thailand, Texas, Tolowa, Tonga, Tulalip, Utah, Virginia, Washo, Wichita, Wintun, Yavapai, and Zuni.
The manuscript and pamphlet file is virtually a potpourri of documents, including correspondence, notes, drawings, maps, photographs, printed and processed materials, paper specimens, reports, writings, catalogs, motion picture film, bibliographies, and other types of documents. Of concern is a wide variety of subjects such as anthropological specimens, museology and museums, Smithsonian history, archeological and ethnological methods, exhibits, expeditions, history of anthropology, and so forth. The file seems to have been maintained in the Division of Ethnology--in one document it was referred to as being Herbert W. Krieger's morgue--and the subject matter is largely ethnological.
Some documents, however, concern archeology and physical anthropology. The file also contains some administrative materials--records relating to the Department of Anthropology's use of Work Projects Administration workers, for example. In addition, it is the main location of materials not generally accepted as being strictly anthropological in the modern sense. It includes, for example, material on the First Ladies' Gown exhibit now in the National Museum of American History, fish and fisheries, whaling, religions, armour, biblical studies, modern appliances, the seal industry, European music and musical instruments, lace, aeronautics, and other similar subjects.
The file includes the papers of many different persons. The file also includes sets of papers of Otis Tufton Mason, Walter Hough, Talcott Williams, Edwin H. Hawley, and Thomas Wilson. It includes documents, sometimes of a secondary nature, about the following cultural groups and geographic areas; Arabs, Bannock, Baubi, Blackfoot, British Columbia, Caddo, Chinook, Cochiti, Comanche, Cossacks, Cuna, Delaware, Diegueno, District of Columbia, Dyak, Eskimo, Europe, Fox, Goajira, Haida, Hawaii, Hittites, Hupa, India, Innuit, Iran, Ireland, Jamomadi, Japan, Jivaro, Kabyles, Kiowa, Kirghese, Klamath, Korea, Luiseno, Madagascar, Madeira, Maidu, Makah, Maori, Mataco, Maya, Micmac, Micronesia, Mission, Modoc, Mohave, Mongolia, Moro, Morocco, Naltunnetunne, Nanticoke, Narragansett, Navaho,
William Ockleford Oldman Archive research materials
Creator:
Oldman, W. O. (William Ockleford), 1879-1949 Search this
Extent:
1,789 Digital images (7 digitized ledgers)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Digital images
Ledgers (account books)
Date:
1902-1916
Summary:
The William Ockleford Oldman Archive research materials are comprised of digital surrogates of the business records of Oldman held by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. William Ockleford Oldman (1879 – 1949) was a British collector and dealer of ethnographic art and European arms and armour. His business W.O. Oldman, Ethnographical Specimens, London was active between the late 1890s and 1913. These records include detailed information about his purchases and sales of objects including names of original sources for objects he acquired and sold. Oldman dealt extensively with the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, the predecessor institution to the National Museum of the American Indian between 1909 and 1937. This provenance information is critically important to documentation of NMAI's collections and related research.
Scope and Contents:
William Oldman's sale registers and other business records contain detailed information about his purchases and sales of objects. This includes names of original sources for objects he acquired as well as details on whom he sold those objects to.
Sale registers include:
1. Sales Register, 1904-1910; CA000228/001/0001 (255 digital images)
2. Sales Register; 1910-1914; (CA000228/001/0002 (252 digital images)
3. Sales Register; 1902-1903; CA000228/001/0003 (46 digital images)
4. Sales Register; 1903; CA000228/001/0004; (37 digital images)
5. Sales Register: Pistols; 1914-1916; CA000228/001/0005 (181 digital images)
Collection Ledgers include:
1. Collection ledger, 1 to 33668, 1902-1916; CA000231/001/0001 (899 digital images).
2. Collection ledger, 33669 to 37700, 1914-1916; CA000231/002/0001 (199 digital images)
Arrangement:
The William Ockleford Oldman Archive research materials consist of 7 ledgers.
Sales Registers are in chronological order of sales made, by William Ockleford Oldman, 1902-1916 (CA000228, 5 bound volumes).
Collection Ledgers in chronological order of acquisition, by William Ockleford Oldman, 1902-1916; bound volumes (CA000231, 2 bound volumes)
Biographical / Historical:
William Ockleford Oldman (1879 – 1949) was a British collector and dealer of ethnographic art and European arms and armour. His business W.O. Oldman, Ethnographical Specimens, London was active between the late 1890s and 1913.
Oldman purchased items from various sources including from auctions, directly from other collectors and dealers and also from many small British museums and historic houses. He held regular auctions to sell items and also reserved items for possible sale to particular private collectors, scholars, and heritage institutions. He maintained frequent correspondence with his network of collectors and he was often visited by museum professionals and scholars from institutions around the world. Oldman continued to deal in artifacts after 1913 but ceased to arrange auctions.
Ethnographic specimens with a provenance to Oldman's business can be found in various public institutions around the world including the National Museum of the American Indian, Pitt Rivers Museum, the British Museum and others. Items were either collected directly from Oldman or were part of donations from other significant collectors who were clients of Oldman.
In addition to his business Oldman also had a substantial personal collection. His focus was on Oceania. He sold his private collection of Oceanic material to the New Zealand Government in 1948 and included some of his business records and collection information in the sale. The New Zealand Government transferred the legal ownership of this collection including all the records to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in 1992.
This Biographical / Historical section is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 copyright licence This article uses material from the Wikipedia article William Ockleford Oldman, which is released under the Creative Commons AttributionShare-Alike License 3.0.
Related Materials:
Over 1000 archaeological and ethnographic items were aquired from Oldman by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation and are now part of the National Museum of the American Indian's collections. A selection of these items can be viewed online on the Smithsonian Collections Search Center.
A small amount of correspondence and additional catalog lists between W.O. Oldman and the Museum of the American Indian can be found in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation records (NMAI.AC.001) in Box 264, Folder 4.
Provenance:
The digital research materials were created through a collaborative project between the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the National Museum of the American Indian in 2018.
Restrictions:
Digital access only. For physical access see the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa website. https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/agent/4913
Rights:
Copyright in the business records is owned by the Estate of W. O. Oldman represented by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Media Licensing, at: mediasalesandlicensing@tepapa.govt.nz.
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 changedand the source of the image is identified as the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa/National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art objects -- Collectors and collecting Search this
William Ockleford Oldman Archive research materials, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution.
Ruahihi Pa : a prehistoric defended settlement in the south- western Bay of Plenty / by B.G. McFadgen and R.A. Sheppard ; with an appendix on artifacts by B.I. McFadgen-Richardson
Robinson, Jesse S. (Jesse Squibb), 1889- Search this
Extent:
86 Film reels (color silent; black-and-white silent; 36,900 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Film reels
Travelogues (motion pictures)
Silent films
Place:
North America
United States
Europe
Norway
Japan
East Asia
Guatemala
Mexico
Canada
South Africa
Egypt
Fiji
Philippines
Thailand
Southeast Asia
Africa, North
Date:
circa 1930-1965
Scope and Contents:
Amateur travel film shot by Jesse S. Robinson, professor of economics at Carleton College, of his numerous travels throughout the world. Travels include (1930) Norway (fjords), Sweden (Gota Canal), Russia (Leningrad, Moscow, Kiev); (1931) Florida (Clearwater) to Virginia, eastern U.S., Virginia to Halifax, Nova Scotia; (1932) Texas and Mexico; (1934) Italy, France, England (London), Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Germany (Oberammergau); (1935) National Parks (Black Hills, Yosemite, Glacier National Parks, Banff National Park and Lake Louise, Yellowstone); (1936) Gettysburg, Texas Centennial, Arkansas, Carlsbad Caverns and Taos (New Mexico), Mexico; (1937) Hawaii, Fiji, Japan, China, Singapore, Java, Bali, Australia, New Zealand; (1938) Cuba, Valley Forge, Gaspe (Quebec), Niagara, Kenora (Ontario, Canada); and (1948) British Isles, France, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium. Undated travels include Bermuda, Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Saba, St. Kitts, Lesser Antilles, Nevis, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Tobago, British Guiana, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Minnesota, Guatemala, Bermuda, Nassau, Jamaica, Okefenokee Swamp (Georgia), Williamsburg (Virginia), Washington, D.C., Acadia National Park (Maine), Rochester (New York), Provincetown (Rhode Island); Rocky Mountains, South Africa (Johannesburg, Durban, Hluhlule, Kruger, Amboseli), Philippines, Thailand, India, Ceylon, Saigon (Vietnam), Taiwan, Okinawa (Japan), Tahiti, Samoa, Kashmir, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Morocco (Casablanca, Marrakesh), Egypt.
Legacy keywords: Tourism ; Ruins archeological ; Landscapes ; Cities and towns ; Architecture Religious
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 Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Local Numbers:
HSFA 1997.12.1
Provenance:
Received from American Film Institute (National Center for Film and Video Preservation) in 1997.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Travelogues (Motion pictures)
silent films
Citation:
J. S. Robinson travel films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
