Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art

Melville Herskovits photographs, EEPA 1986-029

Summary

Collection ID:
EEPA.1986-029
Creators:
Herskovits, Melville J. (Melville Jean), 1895-1963
Dates:
1928-1934
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
736 Negatives (photographic)
+contact prints (5 v.)
black & white
3 x 4 in.
736 Photographic prints
(6 v.)
black & white
3 x 4 in.
Repository:
Photographs taken by Melville J. Herskovits during his trips with his wife, Frances Shapiro Herskovits, to Surinam (1928-29); Dahomey, now Republic of Benin (1931); Haiti (1934); and Brazil (1941-42). From 1928 to 1943 Melville Herskovits and his wife, Frances Herskovits (nee Shapiro) traveled together throughout West Africa and the Americas to collect evidence of the legacy of African culture. The contributions of Frances Herskovits to her husband's research were fully recognized in an exhibition held by the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University, from April 2-August 9, 1998. Entitled, "Living Tradition in Africa & the America: The Legacy of Melville J. and Frances S. Herskovits," the brochure noted, "On each trip, Frances was a full partner in the research...Until Melville's death in 1963, they worked together on the analysis of their data and the writing of books and articles; and after he died, she edited a collection of his papers."

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Images indexed by negative number.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Melville J. Herskovits, 1895-1963, anthropologist. After receiving a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1923, Dr. Herskovits began teaching at Northwestern University in 1927, where he was founder and first chair of the Department of Anthropology (1938) and founder and first director of the Program of African Studies (1948).

Administration

Custodial History note
Donated by Jean Herskovits, 1986.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Conditions Governing Use note
For study purposes only. Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Surinam Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Benin Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Haiti Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Africa Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographic prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brazil Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dahomey (Kingdom) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Herskovits, Jean Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
National Museum of African Art
P.O. Box 37012
MRC 708
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-4690
Fax Number: Fax: 202-357-4879
elisofonarchives@si.edu