National Museum of the American Indian

A. Hyatt Verrill negatives, photographs and other materials, circa 1880-1925

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAI.AC.001.015
Creators:
Verrill, A. Hyatt (Alpheus Hyatt), 1871-1954
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation
Dates:
circa 1880-1925
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Lantern slide
170 Photographic prints
albumen
392 Negatives (photographic)
acetate
Repository:
These images depict the indigenous people of Peru, Bolivia, Suriname and Chile; the largest percentage of the images are of Panama and Guyana (British Guiana).

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Verrill collection consists primarily of photographic materials made by Verrill in Guyana and Panama. Dating from 1917 and 1925, the Guyana photographs depict mostly Carib and Patamona but also Warao, Arecuna, Akawaio (Acawai), Akurio (Acuria), Arawak, Macushi (Macusi), Waiwai, and Taruma men and women. These are mostly informal portraits, but the photographs also document dwellings and various activities, such as weaving, spinning, fishing, and canoeing. Included in the Guyana materials are also nineteenth-century (ca. 1880?) albumen prints of portraits of Wapichana (Wapishana), Waiwai, Atorai, and Taruma men and women; Verrill most likely did not make these photographs. The Panama materials date from 1924 and 1925 and are primarily portraits of Teribe (Terraba), Ngäbe (Boorabi), Coclé Guaymi (Cocle), Guaymi, Kuna (Cuna), Emberá (Choikoi), and Sabanero men and women, but the photographs also depict dwellings, ceremonials, and canoes. Among the Panama materials are photographs depicting antiquities from Penonomé. The collection also consists of 1924 photographs of the indigenous peoples of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile and 1925 photographs of the indigenous peoples of Suriname and Peru.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Negatives Arranged by negative number (N10017-N10307, N10804-N10966, N11229-N11257, N29558, N34270, N34288-N34289, N34294, N34930-N34932, N36040-N36041, N36044, N41525)
Prints Arranged by print number (P00243-P00271, P00289-P00341, P00289-P00341, P02207-P02215, P06385-P06401, P06654-P06682, P06654-P06682, P06695-P06700, P06703, P07307, P07310-P07315, P07317, P07384-P07394, P09137-P09141, P18855)
Lantern slide Arranged by lantern slide number (L00076)

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Born in 1871 in New Haven, Connecticut, A. Hyatt Verrill was an illustrator, naturalist, explorer, and author of more than 105 books. From 1889 to 1928, he either explored, made ethnological expeditions to, or excavated in Bermuda, the West Indies, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Surinam.

Administration

Processing Information note
NMAIA Review

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
Access is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use note
Restricted: Cultural Sensitivity
Preferred Citation note
A. Hyatt Verrill negatives, photographs and other materials, 1917-1926, National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution (negative, slide or catalog number).

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Arecuna Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Warao Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Akurio (Acuria) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Akawaio (Acawai) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of South America -- Peru Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coclé Guaymi (Cocle) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arawak Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Waiwai Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Macushi (Macusi) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographic prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Patamona Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of South America -- Chile Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carib Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lantern slides Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sabanero Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of South America -- Suriname Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kuna (Cuna) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Taruma Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Teribe (Terraba) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ngäbe (Boorabi) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Emberá (Choikoi) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Penonomé (Panama) -- Antiquities -- photographs Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of South America -- Bolivia Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of South America -- Panama Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Negatives Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of South America -- Guiana Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Museum of the American Indian
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Suitland, Maryland 20746-2863
nmaiarchives@si.edu