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National Anthropological Archives
Guide to Charles Praetorius reproductions of drawings made by or associated with John White, 1889-1893
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NAA.MS316516
- Creators:
-
Praetorius, CharlesWhite, John, active 1585-1593
- Dates:
-
1889-1893
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
69 DrawingsHand-colored photographs of watercolor drawings
- Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of sixty-nine (69) facsimiles of sixty-seven (67) watercolor drawings made by or associated with John White. The reproductions were created by Charles Praetorius by photographing the drawings, and subsequently bleaching and hand coloring the images. The drawings come from two sources in the British Museum: John White album (see British Museum Number 1906,0509.1.1 and a version of the John White album known as the Sloan album (see British Museum Number SL,5270.1-113). The original drawings date from 1585-1593, and are some of the earliest European depictions of the flora, fauna, and peoples of the Americas.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Biographical Note
Biographical Note
Charles Praetorius was a print-maker and photographer. Born in Vienna, he was employed by the British Musem to make photographs of works in the Museum and make photographs of prints and drawings in other British collections.
Biographical Note
John White (circa 1539 – circa 1593) was an English colonial governor, explorer, artist, and cartographer. White served as artist and mapmaker for Richard Grenville's expedition to colonize Roanoke Island in 1585. He later served as the governor of the second attempt to found Roanoke Colony on the same island in 1587 and discovered the colonists had mysteriously vanished.
Administration
Custodial History
The drawings in this collection were purchased from Charles Praetorius in two lots. The first group, consisting of 38 drawings of biological subjects, was commissioned by George Brown Goode, ichthyologist and Assistant Secretary in charge of the USNM, in 1889. The second group, consisting of drawings of ethnological subjects, was commissioned in 1893 for use in the World's Columbian Exposition. The ethnological drawings were accessioned by the USNM in March 1893 under 26851, but this number was subsequently cancelled. All drawings were later accessioned under 66766 in June 1921.
The drawings were transferred from the object collections of the Department of Anthropology to the National Anthropological Archives in 1970.
Processing Information
The drawings in this collection were previously cataloged by the National Anthropological Archives individually by their USNM Catalog Number.
The collection was reprocessed in 2023, and all drawings were incorporated into a single collection under MS 316516. The archivist replaced the titles previously assigned to the drawings and photographs with the titles and captions provided by the artist. Original spellings and capitalization were retained. Untitled drawings were assigned titles in square brackets []. The drawings were arranged in number order by their source album.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Keywords
National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu
