Search

Start Over Repository University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives Year 1870 to 1874

Main content

Montroville Wilson Dickeson collection, 1837-1844 (bulk) 1837-1876 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.8 linear foot (the collection consists of two catalogues and twenty three folders of material. the two catalogues are bound and housed in one box measuring 17" by 12.5" by 2". photocopies of the catalogue are contained in three folders in the archival box along with twelve additional folders of material. the remaining eight folders are oversized material.)
Abstract:
The Montroville W. Dickeson Collection is a record of Dickeson's expedition to the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys to investigate the origins and archaeology of the North American mound builders. Interested in collecting from an early age, Dickeson left his medical residency and traveled in the South from 1837 to 1844 pioneering in the use of trenches in excavation and strata and cross-sections in description. The collection consists of catalogues, maps, drawings, renderings, photographs, cross-section drawings, and advertising material. Dickeson displayed his collection on his return to Philadelphia and commissioned the Mississippi Panorama painted by John J. Egan, an itinerant Irish artist. Dickeson's collection and the panorama were displayed at his own museum, in subscription lectures, and at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876 in Philadelphia. Dickeson engaged in ceaseless self promotion but mostly published in local venues and in serialized format. His advanced archaeological...(see more)

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

Main content

American Section, 1898-1960 (bulk) 1826-1995 (inclusive)

Extent:
16.0 linear feet
Abstract:
The American Section was one of the first to evolve during the early development of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The University Archaeological Association established in 1887 and later, the American Exploration Society, established in 1892, exhibited several small collections in College Hall before the building campaign for the museum began. Charles Abbott was the first curator of the section succeeded by Henry C. Mercer and then Stewart Culin who was also named Director in 1899. Each succeeding curator was responsible for adding collections, many of them representing their own expeditions in the United States, Alaska, Mexico, Central America and South America. Records in the files are dated from 1826 through the 1980s. The transfer of materials to the Archives took place piecemeal and without a central organization. The current re-processing placed the files into three series, Deaccessions and Loans, Collectors and Collections and Exhibits.

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

Main content

Daniel Garrison Brinton Collection, 1868-1956 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.2 linear foot (the collection consists of thirteen folders housed in two archival boxes.)
Abstract:
Daniel Garrison Brinton is considered one of the founders of modern American Anthropology. He was also the first to hold a professorship in Archaeology in the United States. His library, which includes the Carl Hermann Berendt collection of manuscripts in the indigenous languages of Mexico and Central America, is considered the core of the University of Pennsylvania Anthropology Library. Among the collection are 4515 items; rare illustrations, contemporary photographs, portraits of individual authors, and texts in Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Brinton gathered his information from archival and library studies and did not participate in any archaeological expeditions. This small collection, attributed to Brinton by J. Alden Mason of the University Museum, consists of thirteen folders. Two contain linguistic notes on the Maya languages and another two contain drawings of pottery, objects, sites, and maps of Maya regions, primarily in Mexico. Some of the drawings are believed...(see more)

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