National Museum of the American Indian

Theodoor de Booy negatives and photographs collection, 1912-1918

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAI.AC.001.006
Creators:
Booy, Theodoor Hendrik Nikolaas de, 1882-1919
Dates:
1912-1918
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2 Photographic prints
793 Negatives (photographic)
Repository:

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
The Theodoor de Booy collection consists of photographic negatives and prints made by de Booy from 1912 to 1918. The materials largely relate to various archaeological expeditions undertaken by de Booy on behalf of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation to such places as the Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic's Island of Saona, Cuba, Venezuela's Island of Margarita, and Trinidad. The West Indies views represent excavation sites, archaeological activities, and antiquities presumably felt to be related to the Indians of the West Indies. In addition are city street scenes, landscapes, and seascapes; plantations; native peoples and their dwellings, social customs, and agricultural practices; and U.S. military activities in the region as well as a few negatives made in New York at the Museum of the American Indian.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Negatives Arranged by negative number (N04070-N04362, N04489-N05070, N06068-N06098). Prints Arranged by print number (P00286, P00287).

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Theodoor de Booy was born in 1882 in Hellevoetsluis, Netherlands. The son of a vice-admiral, he received his education from the Royal Naval Institute of Holland; in 1906, at the age of 24, he immigrated to the United States. During a 1911 trip to the Bahamas, he explored several caves and mounds and, based on his discoveries, published an article in the American Anthropologist entitled "Lucayan Remains on the Caicos Islands." This trip affirmed his interest in antiquities, and in 1912 he accepted one of the first positions on George Gustav Heye's "scientific staff," who were charged with collecting American Indian specimens throughout the Western Hemisphere for the Museum of the American Indian collections. De Booy's appointment was as field explorer for the West Indies. From 1912 to 1918, as an employee of the Museum, de Booy conducted archaeological expeditions to and excavations in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Santo Domingo, Cuba, Venezuela, and in Trinidad. After 1918, de Booy worked for a short time at the University of Pennsylvania Museum and then joined the State Department Inquiry as a specialist for South America. A casualty of the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919, de Booy died in Yonkers, New York, at the age of 37.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Historically, the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation managed all photographic and related manuscript collections separately. This collection description represents current management practices of organizing and contextualizing related archival materials.
Processing Information note
NMAIA Review

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
Access is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use note
Some restrictions: Cultural Sensitivity
Preferred Citation note
Theodoor de Booy negatives and photographs collection, 1912-1918, National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution (negative, slide or catalog number).

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Indians of the West Indies -- Social life and customs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of the West Indies Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographic prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Negatives Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Excavations (Aerchaeology) -- West Indies Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of the West Indies -- Antiquities Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Island Caribbean Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Taíno [Puerto Rico] Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Museum of the American Indian
4220 Silver Hill Rd
Suitland, Maryland 20746-2863
nmaiarchives@si.edu