Language: English / Year: <span class="single" data-blrl-single="1908">1908</span> - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Board of Managers, 1891-1906 (bulk) 1887-1910 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2.8 linear foot (the board of managers records fill seven archival boxes plus a few oversize pieces.)
Abstract:: William Pepper, originally a Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, was the visionary behind the establishment of the University Archaeological Association in 1889, and the Department of Archaeology and Paleontology in 1891, the precursors to the University Museum. The groups were composed of wealthy Philadelphians, interested in the ancient world, and capable of soliciting subscriptions to the Associations from their friends and colleagues. The University's sponsorship of an expedition to Nippur, Babylonia in 1887, financed by private funds was the impetus for Pepper to work toward the establishment of organizations to support exploration and house artifacts from the ancient world. With the need for a fire-proof building to house the finds, supported by the Trustees, College Hall was designated as the first repository in response to a request from William Pepper. By 1892, the Department of Archaeology and Paleontology, affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, was...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

Egypt Exploration Fund, 1888-1926 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.4 linear foot (the records of the egypt exploration fund fill one archival box of correspondence and financial records.)
Abstract:: Amelia B. Edwards, a novelist and travel writer, traveled in Egypt from 1873 to 1874 to escape bad weather in her native England. Her stay in Egypt inspired the book, A Thousand Miles Up the Nile. A best seller at the time, Edwards story presented a view of nineteenth century Egypt along with descriptions of the previously unknown antiquities of the ancient civilization. After returning to England, Edwards and Reginald Stuart Poole of the Department of Coins and Metals of the British Museum co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund. Its 1882 mission was to "explore, survey and excavate ancient sites in Egypt and Sudan and publish the results of this work." The work of W.M. Flinders Petrie was of great interest to the amateur Egyptologist Edwards, and she supported Flinders Petrie's appointment as successor to Edouard Naville in Egypt. Petrie arrived in Egypt in 1884 with funds from University College, London. He later became the first Edwards professor of Egyptology at...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

J. Alden Mason American Section records, 1924-1964 (bulk) 1898-1968 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.2 linear feet
Abstract:: J. Alden Mason, noted archaeological anthropologist and linguist, was born in Orland, Indiana and attended school in Philadelphia attaining his A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1907. He pursued his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley completing his dissertation on the ethnography of the Salinan Indians of California. Mason was influenced by Alfred J. Kroeber while at Berkeley and Edward Sapir of the University of Pennsylvania. The J. Alden Mason curatorial years (1922-1967) produced three archival boxes of correspondence and in-house memos, along with Section reports, research notes and articles and notes for publication. This material, in addition to personal records of Dr. Mason and evidence of his scholarship were arranged into series and placed in chronological order.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

Mediterranean Section Curatorial records, 1895-1975 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The curatorial files encompass the period from the Section's inauguration by Museum President William Pepper in 1894 to the 1970s. While the material in the Mediterranean curatorial files dates from 1895 to 1979, the bulk of the collection dates to the earlier years (1895-1949) and within that period, the majority relate to Edith Hall Dohan.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

Hermann V. Hilprecht Near East Section records, 1892-1913 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2.7 linear feet
Abstract:: Hermann Volrath Hilprecht, eminent Assyriologist, arrived in the United States in 1886, summoned by the Sunday School Times to edit their oriental section. He was also appointed Professor of Assyriology at the University of Pennsylvania. The following year, Hilprecht assumned the duties of Curator of the Babylonian and General Semitic section of the Museum of Archaeology at Penn. Hilprecht was the scientific director for the Babylonian expedition to Nippur. In all, he worked on four expeditions, specializing in the interpretation of the cuneiform tablets. The Hermann V. Hilprecht Near East section records consist of five boxes of data. The folders had been previously organized into correspondence, collections, publications and controversy divisions. During processing, the correspondence was placed more appropriately in general, curatorial and publishing subdivisions. The collection folders as well as the majority of the publication data required only placement in chronological order.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

William N. Bates Mediterranean Section records, 1904-1938 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.6 linear foot
Abstract:: William N. Bates (1867-1949) was born and educated in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bates curated the Mediterranean Section of the Penn Museum from 1904 to 1911. In 1940, the University of Pennsylvania awarded him an honorary doctorate. The William N. Bates curatorial subgroup consists of two folders of general correspondence from 1904 to 1915.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

Eckley B. Coxe Jr. Expedition to Nubia 1899-1911, 1899-1911 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.4 linear foot
Abstract:: The Eckley B. Coxe Jr. Expedition to Nubia was among those Egyptian trips financed by Coxe during his short life. The expedition was headed by David Randall-MacIver of the University Museum and C. Leonard Woolley of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Ancient Nubia, located in a corridor linking continental Africa and the Mediterranean, was rich in natural resources, especially gold. The northern part is now located under the Aswan Dam. The southernmost part is in modern day Sudan. Its people were culturally and linguistically different from the Egyptians and strong cultural interactions occurred in the ancient history of the region. Randall-MacIver and Woolley dug at Anibeh, Nasr Ibrim, Ma'am, Buhen, Areika and Karanog from 1907 to 1911. The records of the Nubia expedition include correspondence, notes, an object register, account books, photographs and oversize items that fill two archival boxes with additional oversize material in the map and print cases.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

Robert Burkitt expedition records, 1913-1930 (bulk) 1903-1939 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.4 linear feet
Abstract:: Robert Burkitt lived and worked in Guatemala for most of his life. A graduate of Harvard University, he first traveled to Central America in 1894 with George Gordon as Gordon's assistant on the Fourth Coban Expedition. Burkitt became enamored with the culture and language of the Maya and never returned to North America. He traveled the countryside, corresponding with Gordon, and collecting items for the Museum under a loosely binding agreement with Gordon and later Horace Jayne. Burkitt's letters and catalogues are rich documents depicting the cultural, linguistic, topological, and historical features of the Guatemala Highlands. Burkitt wrote and worked from the areas of Chama, Chipal, Coban, Senahu, Chiantla, Chocola, and other areas of the Alta Verapaz region. He produced a detailed catalogue of his discoveries accompanied by photgraphs and drawings. Among Burkitt's discoveries is the Ratinixul Vase unearthed in 1923. His work was published in the Museum Journal in 1924 and 1930....(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

M. Louise Baker papers, 1879-1955 (inclusive)

Extent:: 5.0 linear feet
Abstract:: During her employment as museum artist at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology from 1908-1936, M. (Mary) Louise Baker established an international reputation as the preeminent archaeological artist of her time with unmatched technical skill in scientific illustration. Her work at the University Museum included paintings of Maya pottery for limited edition folio volumes; paintings and reconstructions of Ur of the Chaldees’ royal tombs findings for Sir C. Leonard Woolley and of the Palace of Merenptah at Memphis, and a reconstructed drawing of the Piedras Negras Lintel 3. She spent much of her career dividing her time between the positions of museum artist and as art teacher at the George School in Bucks County, PA. A life-long Quaker, M. Louise Baker was born in Alliance, Ohio, on August 4, 1872. At the age of 19, she came to Pennsylvania to complete her education. By 1900, she had decided to concentrate on art and enrolled at the Pennsylvania Museum...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

Leonard Woolley expedition to Italy, 1908-1910 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.2 linear foot
Abstract:: The expedition to Teano, Italy was proposed to the Penn Museum by C. Leonard Woolley in 1908. Woolley was sure that he could obtain the necessary permits from the Italian government. Woolley remained in Italy until 1909 uncovering a fine statue of Cupid and a lesser statue of Venus and a mask. Although the museum was to receive the best pieces found there, the Italian government reserved the Cupid for its museum and would only issue export papers for the lesser finds. On the trip, Woolley purchased the Pozzuoli marble from Lamont Young of Naples, a piece found during the construction of a house in Pozzuoli. Apparently, this purchase resulted in concerns about the use of the moneys provided by patron Mrs. Drexel for the expedition.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

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