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Start Over Subject Archaeology--History Year 1900 to 1949

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Sara Yorke Stevenson Egyptian Section records, 1890-1907 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.8 linear foot (the egyptian section sara yorke stevenson records consist of two archival boxes of correspondence, collection information and financial records.)
Abstract:
Sara Yorke Stevenson, the first curator of the Egyptian section of the Free Museum of Science and Art, was a vital force in the creation and success of the museum. Along with William Pepper, Stevenson worked tirelessly through the Department of Archaeology and Paleontology and the American Exploration Society to gain subscriptions, build the Museum and acquire a collection of antiquities. In addition to being the first curator of the Egyptian Section, Stevenson was the Secretary of the Board of Managers and of the American Exploration Society. She served as President of the Board from 1904 to 1905. While Stevenson was performing the dual role of Secretary of the Board of Managers and Curator, the museum relied on the London-based Egypt Exploration Fund to provide a share of the findings of archaeologist W.M. Flinders Petrie to the museum. Stevenson cultivated a relationship with Flinders Petrie and well connected Egyptians such as Yacoub Artin Pasha. Mrs Stevenson traveled to Egypt...(see more)

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

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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]

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Henry L. Smith collection of Augustus Le Plongeon correspondence, 1906-1907 (bulk) 1906-1945 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.05 linear foot (the collection consists of one folder of material with thirteen letters, an article, a program, and the signature of henry l. smith.)
Abstract:
The Henry L. Smith collection of Augustus Le Plongeon correspondence documents the letters received by Henry L. Smith from the photographer, antiquarian, and amateur archaeologist, Augustus Le Plongeon in 1906 and 1907. Le Plongeon is most noted for his photographs in the Northern Yucatan during travels with his wife, Alice Dixon Le Plongeon, during a thirteen year period from 1873 to 1885. These photographs depict ancient ruins and inscriptions some of which were later damaged or destroyed. The collection consists of one folder of thirteen letters from Le Plongeon, and two additional pieces of information sent to Henry L. Smith, an article from Appleton's Booklovers Magazine and a brochure from the Lowell Institute. H. L. Smith's signature is found on a label for the letters.

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

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George B. Gordon Director's Office Records, 1910-1928 (bulk) 1907-1930 (inclusive)

Extent:
12.5 linear feet
Abstract:
George Byron Gordon, explorer in Central America and Alaska, and first to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, was born in New Perth, Prince Edward Island, Canada on August 4,1870. Gordon attended the University of South Carolina for one year in 1888 then completed his degree at Harvard University. Selected as an assistant to John G. Owens in 1892, Gordon accompanied Owens on the Harvard-sponsored excavation at Copan, Honduras. When Owens died in the field, Gordon was given the leadership to close down that portion of the work and then continued as Director of the next six sessions in Copan, until 1900. While performing these duties, Gordon attained his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1894. Gordon joined the Free Museum of Science and Art(later the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology)in 1903 as Assistant Curator in the Section of General Ethnology. He led two expeditions to Alaska, in 1905 and 1907...(see more)

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

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Exhibits Department records, 1893-1984 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.8 linear foot
Abstract:
The Museum collections, initially displayed in the University Library in the Furness Building, were transferred to the new building in 1898. In the years that followed, the collections and the space available continued to grow and the Museum prepared both permanent and loan exhibits. The earliest Museum exhibits can be found in the records of the individual sections. An exhibit staff member was appointed in 1940; the staff remaining relatively small. Although exhibit catalogs date from 1892, few files were kept, and the photographic collections are often helpful in documenting past exhibitions. The files are arranged chronologically. Exhibit catalogs are filed separately (see Special Collections— Publications).

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

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John L. Cotter papers, 1934-1997 (inclusive)

Extent:
10.4 linear feet
Abstract:
John Lambert Cotter is widely considered to have been a pioneer in American historical archaeology in a career. He began his career, that spanned some sixty-five years, studying and working in traditional prehistoric archaeology, earnestly beginning his explorations in historical archaeology in the 1950s. The textual records from Dr. John L. Cotter consist of 26 boxes of correspondence, teaching materials, archaeological field notes, reports, and publications.

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

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Stephen Langdon Babylonian Section records, 1911-1918 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.01 linear foot
Abstract:
Stephen Langdon, noted Sumerian scholar, was an American-born British citizen who briefly curated the Near East section at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. The Stephen Langdon Near East section records consist of three folders of material mostly correspondence with George B. Gordon the Director of the Museum.

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

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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]

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Sara Yorke Stevenson Mediterranean Section records, 1875-1904 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.4 linear foot
Abstract:
Sara Yorke Stevenson was closely involved with creating both the University Archaeological Association and the Department of Archaeology and Paleontology, the two organizations that merged and eventually became the Penn Museum. In 1891, she accepted an appointment as curator of the Egyptian Section; in 1892, she also became curator of the Mediterranean Section. In addition to her curatorial responsibilities, she succeeded Stewart Culin as secretary of the Board of Managers in 1894 and served as secretary until 1904, when she became president and chairman. In early 1905, however, she resigned both from the Board and as curator. The textual records comprising the Sara Yorke Stevenson curatorial subgroup consist primarily of correspondence about developing the Mediterranean collection. These records are divided into two series. Series 1 includes correspondence about acquiring potential collections; Series 2 contains documentation about collections that have been acquired.

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

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Current results range from 1868 to 1997

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