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National Anthropological Archives
Lewis M. Purnell photograph collection relating to Burmese market and marionette troupe, circa 1950-1960
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NAA.PhotoLot.97-38
- Creators:
-
Purnell, Lewis M.
- Dates:
-
circa 1950-1960
- Languages:
-
Undetermined.
- Physical Description:
-
18 Copy prints
- Repository:
Scope and Contents note
Scope and Contents note
Photographs, possibly made by Lewis M. Purnell, depicting a performance by a marionette troupe and Shan people at a market in Burma. They include close ups of marionettes and singers.
Biographical/Historical note
Biographical/Historical note
Lewis M. Purnell graduated from Johns Hopkins University and was a Foreign Service officer for thirty years, most of which were spent in Asia. He served as assistant attache for the United States Embassy in Burma in the early 1950s and became Officer in Charge of Burma Affairs for the Department of State in April 1955. In 1952, Bo Set Kya, former Burmese Secretary of Defense, gave Purnell six Burmese marionettes, which he later donated to the National Museum.
Administration
Author
Sarah Ganderup
Custodial History note
Copy negatives donated by Lewis M. Purnell to the Department of Anthropology in 1982 (accession 350955). One set of eighteen prints were found in Smithsonian curator William Trousdale's office following his retirement.
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 97-38, Lewis M. Purnell photograph collection relating to Burmese market and marionette troupe, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Location of Other Archival Materials
Location of Other Archival Materials
Photo Lot 82-63 has been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 97-38. These photographs are of the same subjects, were also collected by Lewis Purnell, and form part of this collection.
Location of Other Archival Materials
Purnell donated six Burmese marionettes along with this collection to the Department of Anthropology in accession 350955.
Location of Other Archival Materials
Correspondence from Purnell can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Henri Geiger Omwake's papers.
Location of Other Archival Materials
Additional artifacts donated by Purnell can be found in the Department of Anthropology in accession 336965, 324266, and 359770.
More Information
Local Call Number(s)
Local Call Number(s)
NAA Photo Lot 97-38
, NAA Photo Lot 82-63
, USNM ACC 350955
Reproduction Note
Reproduction Note
Copy prints made by the Smithsonian Institution from copy negatives, circa 1982.
Keywords
| Keyword Terms | Keyword Types | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Marionettes -- Burma | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Shan (Asian people) | Cultural Context | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Burmese | Cultural Context | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Photographs | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Markets -- Burma | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu
