National Anthropological Archives

Stuart Eldridge photograph collection of skulls from Taiwan and the Philippines, circa 1877-1881

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.PhotoLot.6B
Dates:
circa 1877-1881
Languages:
Undetermined
.
Physical Description:
6 Prints
albumen
Repository:

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
Photographs of skulls, which were sent by Stuart Eldridge of Yokohama, Japan, to the Army Medical Museum in November 1876. They include front and profile images of skulls of "Botan" warriors from the island of Formosa (Taiwan) and of an adult male from Manila, Philippines.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Stuart Eldrige (1843-1901) was a New York-born physician known for his work in Japan for both the United States and Japanese governments. He traveled to Japan as Secretary and Physician to the Scientific Mission to Japan under General Horace Capron in 1871. He continued to serve there in several positions, including Surgeon-General of the Kaitakushi (Commissioner of Development Projects), director of the General Hospital of Yokohama, and Member of the Central Sanitary Board by the Japanese Government (1883).
The United States Army Medical Museum (AMM, renamed the National Museum of Health and Medicine in 1989) was established by US Army Surgeon General William A. Hammond in 1862. Its initial focus was on collecting specimens of unusual pathology, mostly taken from victims of the American Civil War. By 1867, the museum had expanded to include medical, microsopical, anatomical, comparative anatomics, and other sections. The anatomical collection grew in part as a result of Circular No. 2 of 1867, which authorized military medical officers to collect cranial specimens from deceased Native Americans. Additionally, the AMM made an arrangement with the Smithsonian Institution, by which the Smithsonian transferred their collection of human remains in exchange for ethnological artifacts. AMM photographed and measured many of the specimens in its collection as part of the museum's anthropological research.

Administration

Author
Sarah Ganderup
Custodial History note
Photographs probably transferred by the Army Medical Museum.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use note
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Preferred Citation note
Photo lot 6B, Dr. Stuart Eldridge photograph collection of skulls from Taiwan and the Philippines, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Location of Other Archival Materials

Location of Other Archival Materials
Army Medical Museum photographs of skulls can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 6A, Photo Lot 73-26C, Photo Lot 78-42, Photo Lot 83-41, and Photo Lot 97.
Location of Other Archival Materials
The National Anthropological Archives holds records concerning skeletal material transferred to the Smithsonian Institution from the Army Medical Museum.

More Information

Local Call Number(s)

Local Call Number(s)
NAA Photo Lot 6B


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Physical anthropology Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
anthropometry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Filipinos Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Taiwan aborigines Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Otis, George A. (George Alexander), 1830-1881 (curator) Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eldridge, Stuart, 1843-1901 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu