Enlargements of photographs made by Donald Bush Cordry during his time in Mexico. These were mounted for a 1970s Bellas Artes-sponsored traveling exhibit based on Cordry's collection of Mexican Indian costumes. Included are images of Indigenous peoples of Mexico, fiestas and dances, pottery, boats, weaving, spinning, masks, vendors and markets, churches, and shrines. Depicted groups include the Huichol, Mestizo, Tarascan, Seri, Mayo, Tepehua, Totonac, Nahua, Mazatec, Cuicatec, Chinantec, Zapotec, Mixe, Amusgo, Huave, Mixtec, Chapanec, Zoque, Tzotzil, and Maya. Additionally, there are some self portraits of Donald Cordry and his wife Dorothy.
Biographical/Historical note:
Donald Bush Cordry (1907-1978) was an artist and photographer who studied the art of Indigenous peoples of Mexico. In 1931, Cordry made his first trip to Guerrero, Mexico, where he became interested in contemporary mask making. In 1934, Cordry moved to New York to work as a marionette designer for puppeteer Tony Sarg. While there, he contacted George G. Heye to learn more about Indigenous Mexican art. This led to a series of collecting expeditions from 1935 to 1938, during which Cordry collected Mexican masks and other artifacts for the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 87-38, USNM ACC 361232
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Additional photographs made by Cordry can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 82-14.
Donald Cordry and his wife, Dorothy Mann Cordry, also donated clothing and musical instruments from Mexico to the Department of Anthropology in accessions 361232 and 355866.
The National Museum of the American Indian Archives holds the Donald Bush Cordry collection of photographs and negatives, 1933-1940, as well as artifacts collected by Cordry.
Photographs of the Donald Cordry Mexican mask exhibit can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 80-3.
The Donald Cordry Mexican mask collection can be found in the Department of Anthropology in accession 355867.
Photographs made by Isabel T. Kelly in Tajin, Papantla, and elsewhere in Mexico. There are images of dances and dancers (including Volador "Flying" dance, Guagua, and Negrito dances), Totonac people, a Totonac wedding, and pyramids and relief sculpture at El Tajin Site. The photographs are enlarged prints, mounted and signed, that were made for an exhibit. In part, the images relate to work of the Institute of Social Anthropology and include photographs made by Isabel T. Kelly, George T. Smisor, Done Otto, Elena Guzman, Bertha B. Harris, and John McDonald; in some cases, multiple photographers documented the same event.
Biographical/Historical note:
Isabel Truesdell Kelly (1906-1983) was an archeologist and social anthropologist who specialized in Mexican cultures and prehistory. Born in Santa Cruz, California, she developed a long-standing scholarly interest in anthropology while an undergraduate student at the University of California at Berkeley (UCB). She earned her BA (1926), MA (1927), and PhD (1932) in anthropology at UCB. From 1932-1934, Kelly conducted fieldwork with the Southern Paiute as a National Research Fellow in the Biological Sciences. She then went to Mexico as a research associate under the direction of Carl Sauer and Alfred Kroeber; while there, she directed archeological investigations in Culiacan, Sinaloa. In 1936, she returned to UCB as Carl Sauer's teaching assistant and then conducted research with the Gila Pueblo Archeological Foundation in 1937. With minimal funding from UCB's Anthropology Department, Kelly returned to Mexico for archeological reconnaisance in 1939. She gained Mexican residency in 1940, finally settling in Tepepan. In 1946, Kelly became Ethnologist-in-Charge of the Smithsonian's Institute of Social Anthropology (ISA) Mexico City office; she taught and conducted research among the Totonac Indians in Veracruz and conducted health care research in El Salvador and Mexico. From 1952-1960, Kelly worked with the Institute of Inter-American Affairs (forerunner to the Agency for International Development), studying in Mexico, Bolivia, and Pakistan. In 1960, she returned to research in Mexico with the sponsorship of the Rockefeller Foundation, Wenner-Gren Foundation, and National Geographic Society.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 80-32
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Totonac artifacts collected by Kelly held in the Department of Anthropology collections in accession 365366.
The National Anthropological Archives holds Institute of Social Anthropology photographs (Photo Lot 4623) and the ISA records.
Photo lot 80-32, Isabel T. Kelly collection of photographs of Totonac people and archeological sites in Mexico, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photographs made as part of the work of the Institute of Social Anthropology (ISA), some of which have been mounted on posters for a Smithsonian Institution Regents Exhibit. The photographs document people, the built and natural environments, agricultural work, and events (including dances and a Catholic procession) in Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. Some photographs also depict ISA staff, teachers, and students. The collection includes images by A. Guillen M. and ISA staff.
Biographical/Historical note:
The Institute of Social Anthropology was established under the directorship of Julian H. Steward on September 8, 1943, as an autonomous unit of the Bureau of American Ethnology. The Institute had two basic purposes: training of personnel and local students in anthropology, and acquisition of scientific information regarding Latin American rural populations. At its outset, the ISA staff consisted of eight social scientists in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 4623
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives also holds the Institute of Social Anthropology records, 1941-1952.
Photo Lot 4623, Institute of Social Anthropology photograph collection relating to Latin America, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Front and profile studio portraits of Indigenous peoples of Mexico, representing Aztec, Chinantec, Chocho, Chol, Chontal, Cuicatec, Huastec, Huave, Maya, Mazatec, Mixe, Mixtec, Otomi, Tarascan, Tepehua, Tlaxcalan, Totonac, Trique, Tzental, Tzotzil, Zapotec, Zapotec Tehuartepec, and Zoque tribes. The photographs were made by William L. Koehne of Chicago for publication in Frederick Starr's book, Physical Characters of Indians of Southern Mexico.
Biographical/Historical note:
Frederick Starr (1858-1933) was an anthropologist and academic who worked as curator at the American Museum of Natural History and professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago. During his professiorship, Starr hired professional photographer and studio owner William L. Koehne to make the studio portraits for his 1902 book, Physical Characters of Indians of Southern Mexico. Additionally, Starr made several field studies in Mexico and commissioned field photographs and plaster busts.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 123
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Photographs collected by Cyrus Thomas, Robert T. Hill, Edward W. Nelson, and Edgar L. Hewitt have been relocated to Photo Lot 169, Photo Lot 170, Photo Lot 171, and Photo Lot 172, respectively.
The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian Archives holds the Frederick Starr negatives and lanterns slides, 1894-1910.
Correspondence from Starr held in the National Anthropological Archives is in MS 4558, MS 4821, and the Bureau of American Ethnology records.
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 123, Frederick Starr collection of William L. Koehne photographs of Indigenous peoples of Mexico, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of the collection was funded by the Getty Grant Program; digitization of the collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Recorded in: Totonicapán (Guatemala), Guatemala, 1993.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.
Recorded in: Totonicapán (Guatemala), Guatemala, 1993.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.
Recorded in: Totonicapán (Guatemala), Guatemala, 1993.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.
The collection includes materials from cultures in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, and Guiana: Acoma Pueblo, Apache, Arapaho, Arikara, Assiniboine, Caddo, Cahuilla, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chibcha, Chinantec, Chippewa (Ojibwa), Choco, Chol, Chontal, Cochiti Pueblo, Crow, Cuicatec, Eskimo, Flathead, Haida, Hopi, Huastec, Huave, Iowa, Iroquois, Isleta, Karaja, Kwakiutl, Laguna Pueblo, Macusi, Mandan, Maya, Mazahua, Mazatec, Mehinaku, Menomini, Mixe, Mixtec, Navajo, Nez Perce, Osage, Otomi, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pima, Ponca, Potawatomi, Salish, San Blas, San Felipe Pueblo, Sauk & Fox, Shuar, Sioux, Taos Pueblo, Tarasco, Teotihuacan, Tepehua, Tlaxcala, Tlingit, Tonkawa, Totonac, Triqui, Tzental, Tzotzil, Ute, Wampanoag, Zapotec, Zoque, Zuni.
Arrangement note:
Collection arranged by item number.
Biographical/Historical note:
Frederick Starr was born in Auburn, New York, on September 2, 1858. He received a Ph.D. in biology in 1884 at Coe College, where he was later appointed professor of biology. Starr did postgraduate work in anthropology at Yale. In 1889 he was appointed head of Ethnology at the American Museum of Natural History, and in 1892 he was chosen by William Harper to organize the Anthropology Department at the new University of Chicago. Starr remained at the University until his retirement in 1923. Besides his field studies with various Indian tribes in the United States, Starr traveled to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Guiana, Japan, the Philippines, and Africa. He died in Tokyo, Japan, on August 14, 1933. Starr was the author of several books and scholarly articles.
General note:
Starr hired professional photographers Charles B. Lang and Louis Grabic to accompany him on his field trips. One lantern slide of Moses Ladd (Menomini) was taken by William H. Jackson.
Provenance:
Dr. Frederick Starr, Purchased, circa 1929
Restrictions:
Access restricted. Researchers should contact the staff of the NMAI Archives for an appointment to access the collection.
Highland Totonac, San Marcos Eloxochitlan, Puebla, Mexico, 5 hrs. by horse downstream from Zacatlán de la Manzanas., Puebla, Mexico, North America - Neotropics
Plants used by the Highland, Totonac, San Marcos Eloxochitlán, 5 hrs. by horse downstream from Zacatlán de las Manzanas, Puebla, Mexico, North America - Neotropics
Plants used by the Highland Totonac, San Marcos Eloxochitlán, 5 hrs by horse downstream from Zacatlán de las Manzanas, Puebla, Mexico, North America - Neotropics
