Main content
George C. Vaillant Director's Office Records
Notifications
Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]3260 South Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104-6324
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
George Clapp Vaillant was born in Boston, Massachusetts and educated at Noble and Greenough School and Phillips Academy. Vaillant entered Harvard University where he was a lackluster student until he discovered archaeology. His grades improved significantly in his junior year and he gradauted cum laude. Vaillant worked on the cliff-houses in northeastern Arizona and dug at Pecos, New Mexico while an undergraduate.
In graduate school, Vaillant worked with George A. Reisner in Egypt. Under the direction of the Carnegie Foundation and Sylvanus Morley, he dug at Chichen Itza in 1926. Following his time in Mexico with Morley, Vaillant was appointed assistant curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, in charge of archaeological activities in Mexico. This employment lasted until 1941 when he was appointed Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum.
During WWI, Vaillant volunteered in the Student Army Training Corps and served briefly in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Vaillant also represented the United States government as a cultural relations attache in Peru. His national service was to continue in Spain as a representative of the Office of War Information in 1945 but was interrupted by his untimely death.
Vaillant was a member of many societies and well known as a lecturer and author. He taught at Harvard, Yale, New York University and Columbia during his diverse career.
Vaillant maintained memberships in the American Ethnological Society, the American Anthropological Association, the Society for American Archaeology, the Harvard and Rittenhouse Clubs and the Century Association.
George Clapp Vaillant was born in Boston, Massachusetts and educated at Noble and Greenough School and Phillips Academy. He attended Harvard University where he was a lackluster student until he discovered archaeology. Vaillant worked on the cliff-houses in northeastern Arizona and dug at Pecos, New Mexico while an undergraduate.
In graduate school, Vaillant worked with George A. Reisner in Egypt. Under the direction of the Carnegie Foundation and Sylvanus Morley, he dug at Chichen Itza in 1926. Following his time in Mexico with Morley, Vaillant was appointed assistant curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, in charge of archaeological activities in Mexico. This employment lasted until 1941 when he was appointed Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum.
The George C. Vaillant Administrative records are contained in five archival boxes and consist mostly of correspondence with some administrative records and personal files. The series were assigned during processing. The correspondence records are arranged alphabetically and listed in the finding aid by the name of the writer for both frequent and one-time contacts.
The administrative series includes a combination of staff and sales lists, safety directives, expedition and collection business and Board of Managers and University administrative business.
Among the personal records are information from Vaillant's service to the U.S. government and some manuscripts and membership certificates. Personal notes from his tenure at the Penn museum are present. Several files deal with the effects of his untimely death and the issue of succession.
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM
University Archaeological Association (1889–1899) First President Joseph Leidy President William Pepper, Jr. 1893–1897
Board of Managers, Department of Archaeology and Palaeontology / Free Museum of Science and Art President Charlemagne Tower, Jr. elected Jan 14, 1892 resigned Oct 9, 1894 President William Pepper, Jr. elected Oct 9, 1894 died Aug 3, 1898 President Daniel Baugh acting Aug 3, 1898 elected Jun 22, 1899 President Justus C. Strawbridge elected Jan 19, 1901 resigned 1903 President Sara Yorke Stevenson elected Jan 15, 1904 resigned Feb 24, 1905 President Samuel F. Houston acting Mar 17, 1905 elected Jan 19, 1906 1910
Directors of the University of Pennsylvania Museum Stewart Culin Jun 1, 1892–Jun 28, 1899 George Byron Gordon Feb 1, 1910–Jan 30, 1927 Jane M. McHugh (Acting) 1927–1929 Horace H. F. Jayne 1929–1940 George C. Vaillant 1941–1945 Marian Angell Godfrey (Acting) 1945–1947 Froelich G. Rainey 1947–1976 James B. Pritchard (Acting) 1976–1977 Martin Biddle 1977–1981 Robert H. Dyson (Acting) 1981-1982 Robert H. Dyson 1982–1994 Jeremy A. Sabloff 1994–2004 Richard M. Leventhal 2004-2006 Jeremy A. Sabloff (Interim) 2006-2007 Richard Hodges 2007-2012 Julian Siggers 2012-
People
- D'Harnoncourt, Rene, 1901-1968
- Johnson, Eldridge Reeves, b. 1867-d. 1945
- Kidder, Alfred Vincent, 1885-1963
- Loo, C.T., b.1880-d.1957
- Madeira, Percy C., Jr., 1889-1967
- Morley, Sylvanus Griswold, 1883-1948
- Vaillant, George C., b.1901-d.1945
Subject
- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Jody Rodgers
- Finding Aid Date
- 2/12/2015