Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Andre De La Varre Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0782
Creators:
Varre, Gretl de la, Mrs.
Holmes, Burton, 1870-1958
Varre, Andre de la, 1904-
Dates:
circa 1920-1930
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
3.5 Cubic feet
4 boxes, 2 loose photographs
Repository:

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
Papers relating to the travel writer, photographer and lecturer Burton Holmes, and to De La Varre's own activities as a travel photographer. Includes letters, photographs, printed material, and a set of travel books written by Holmes.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is divided into five series.
Series 1: Letters
Series 2: Photographs
Series 3: Papers relating to appearances of Burton Holmes and Andre La Varre
Series 4: Printed Materials
Series 5: Books

Administration

Author
NMAH Staff
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
Collection donated by Mrs. Gretl de la Varre, June 30, 2001.
Processing Information
Collection processed by NMAH Staff, 2003.

Using the Collection

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Restrictions on Access
Collection is open for research and access on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Preferred Citation
Andre De La Varre Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Related Materials
Materials at Other Organizations
Andre De La Varre
Born in Washington D.C. in 1902, Andre de la Varre quit school at age 17, bought a motion picture camera, and went to Europe to find adventure. He began making his own travel films and in 1924 became a cameraman for Burton Holmes. In the early 1930's, de la Varre went out on his own as "The Screen Traveler" and made theatrical shorts for independent release as well as for many of the major Hollywood Studios. He traveled and filmed constantly. In an autobiographical sketch, he wrote: "During the winter of 1938-39 I drove more than 10,000 miles through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. I covered not only cities and coastal regions but criss-crossed back and forth over the Atlas, Djurdjura, Kebelie, and Aures mountains. I also visited many of the oases on the Northern Sahara and crossed over trails or no trails in the deserts and mountains." De la Varre continued traveling and making films for the next forty years and died in Vienna, Austria at the age of 87.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Bullfights Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Angkor Wat (Cambodia) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lecturers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lecture notes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Spain Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Travel photography -- 1900-1950 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Posters Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Press releases Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu