Usage conditions may apply for digital images, video, and sound recordings linked within SOVA collections. While digital content may be restricted, SOVA collection descriptions and catalog records are available CC0 for re-use. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Correspondence and Specimen Records, 1882-1918
Summary
- Collection ID:
- SIA.FARU0139
- Creators:
-
United States National Museum. Division of Insects
- Dates:
-
1882-1918
- Languages:
-
English
- Physical Description:
-
2.5 cu. ft. (5 document boxes)
- Repository:
-
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Descriptive Entry
Descriptive Entry
These records include receipts for specimens, annual and monthly reports of the Division, and correspondence regarding acquisition, distribution, and loan of specimens.
Historical Note
Historical Note
The Division of Insects of the United States National Museum, reorganized in 1963 as the Department of Entomology, had its origin in the deposit of personal collections in 1881 by Charles Valentine Riley, entomologist of the Department of Agriculture. The Museum became the depository for the national collection of insects. The chief entomologist of the Department of Agriculture became honorary curator of insects in the national museum, aided by an assistant curator on the museum staff. Many staff members of the Department of Agriculture served as custodians, and thus the national collection of insects has become a joint enterprise of the Department and the Museum. Honorary curators were as follows: Charles Valentine Riley, 1881-1894; Leland Ossian Howard, 1895-1927. Assistant curators (museum employees) were as follows: John Bernhard Smith, 1886-1889; Martin L. Linell (aid), 1889-1896; William Harris Ashmead, 1897-1908; James Chamberlain Crawford, Assistant and Associate Curator, 1908-1919.
Administration
Author
Finding aid prepared by Smithsonian Institution Archives
Using the Collection
Prefered Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 139, United States National Museum. Division of Insects, Correspondence and Specimen Records
More Information
Notes
SI Records
Keywords
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Washington, D.C.
Contact us at osiaref@si.edu