Photographs depicting Native American baskets and portraits of Native Americans with whom C. Hart Merriam worked, as well as scenic views and images of animals and plants, mostly in California. Many of the photographs were made by Merriam himself or his daughter Zenaida Merriam Talbot. In addition, Merriam collected photographs from other researchers and photographers, including J. S. Diller, John Peabody Harrington, Henry Wetherbee Henshaw, and O. E. Meddaugh. There are also images acquired from the Boysen Studio of Yosemite and photographs of Mark Twain, John Muir, basketmaker Maggie James, and Merriam's family.
Biographical/Historical note:
Clinton Hart Merriam (1855-1942) was a Columbia University-educated physician who worked as a naturalist, including as head of the Biological Survey for the US Department of Agriculture. He joined the Harriman Alaska Expedition as a zoologist in 1899. In 1910, he left the USDA and began to conduct research among California tribes. Financed by Mary W. Harriman and the E. H. Harriman Fund administered by the Smithsonian, he researched tribes' vocabularies, history, mythology, crafts (particularly basketmaking) until about 1936. His resarch was assisted by his daughter, Zenaida, who took photographs and painted glass slides for him. Merriam served as President of the Anthropological Society of Washington in 1920-1921.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 74-27
General note:
Additional information supplied by Marvin Shodas.
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Merriam's notes held in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 1563 and in the Smithsonian Institution Archives in SIA Acc. 12-264.
Additional photographs by Merriam held in the National Museum of American Indian Archives in the Mary Harriman Rumsey Photograph Collection and the Harriman Alaska Expedition Photograph Collection.
Correspondence from Merriam held in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 4558, the Department of Anthropology records (Manuscript and Pamphlet file), Bureau of American Ethnology records, J.C. Pilling Papers, Ales Hrdlicka Papers, and Jesse Logan Nusbaum Papers.
The Bancroft Library at University of California, Berkeley holds the C. Hart Merriam Papers, C. Hart Merriam Collection of Native American Photographs (prints corresponding to negatives in this collection), and C. Hart Merriam pictorial collection.
Indians of North America -- California Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Copy negatives
Copy color slides
Photographs
Date:
circa 1989
Scope and Contents note:
Images of art pieces by Harry Fonseca, many of which depict his representation of the mythical figure Coyote. Included are copies of the 115 color slides Fonseca used in his lecture at the Smithsonian in 1989. There are also images of his "Stone Poems" series, each Smithsonian-exhibited piece, and views of the exhibit as a whole.
Biographical/Historical note:
Harry Fonseca is a Nisenan Maidu artist who was influenced by basketry designs, his experience as a Maidu dancer, and creation stories and myths. In 1979, he started his Coyote series, which depicts Coyote the trickster in non-traditional settings. Fonseca lectured on his work at the Smithsonian on February 9, 1989 as part of an exhibition of his art in the National Museum of Natural History.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 89-25
Reproduction Note:
Copy slides and negatives made by Smithsonian Institution, 1989.
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The National Museum of the American Indian holds two paintings by Fonseca.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
This copy collection has been obtained for reference purposes only. Contact the repository for terms of use and access.
Some personal materials have been restricted but Beals has provided edited copies for the use of current researchers. In addition, field assistants' materials have been restricted for the lifetime of the creators
