Smithsonian Institution Archives

Paul Bartsch Papers, 1901-1963

Summary

Collection ID:
SIA.FARU7089
Creators:
Bartsch, Paul, 1871-1960
Dates:
1901-1963
Languages:
English
Physical Description:
9.78 cu. ft. (1 record storage box) (17 document boxes) (1 half document box) (1 oversize folder)
Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives

Descriptive Entry

Descriptive Entry
These papers include a very small amount of general correspondence regarding membership in scientific organizations and actions taken by the Washington Council of Social Agencies (1930); field notes of bird investigations in Haiti, Florida, the Florida Keys, and the West Indies (1912-1927); research notes taken on the Albatross Philippine Expedition (1907-1909); field notes and specimen collections made on the Thomas Barrera expedition to Cuba (1914); field notes, manuscript, maps, supply inventories, financial accounts, correspondence and newspaper clippings regarding the expedition to the West Indies under the Walter Rathbone Bacon Travelling Scholarship (1928-1930); notes, balloon observations, log accounts on board the Caroline, sonic soundings, photographs, blueprints, newspaper clippings and correspondence describing the first Johnson-Smithsonian deep-sea expedition to the West Indies (1933); correspondence, manuscripts and photographs documenting the Bartsch process for the preservation of wood fibers (1914-1929); biographical material regarding Bartsch and Carlos de la Torre; mollusk notes unidentified; speeches; student theses, reports and examinations; photographs of Bartsch, Carlos de la Torre, mollusca, birds, and unidentified research activities and friends on Loggerhead Key, Tortugas, Bird Key, Margarita Island, Cuba, and other islands in the Caribbean; prints for Bartsch's publication on Pirates of the Deep--Stories of the Squid and Octopus; newspaper clippings regarding mussels and pearls for the pearl button industry (1907-1909), and Bartsch's activities in conservation (1933).
Correspondents include Charles G. Abbot, Fred Corry Bishopp, William H. Dall, Eldridge R. Fenimore Johnson, William B. Marshall, G. E. Rice, Carlos de la Torre y de la Huerta, Washington Council of Social Agencies, Alexander Wetmore, Francis White.

Historical Note

Historical Note
Born in Tuntschendorf, Silesia, Paul Bartsch (1871-1960) received an early interest in nature from his father, who was an entrepreneur and amateur naturalist, and an interest in medicine probably from his mother, who had received a degree in obstetrics at the University of Breslau. As a result of a depression in the 1880s, the elder Bartsch went into financial bankruptcy. By utilizing the last savings of Bartsch's mother, the Bartsch family was able to emigrate to the United States, finally settling down in Burlington, Iowa.
Paul Bartsch was at first determined to become an ornithologist, but after talking to Professor Samuel Calvin, geologist at the State University of Iowa, he instead enrolled for course work which included a broad spectrum of the various sciences. Before completing his degree, Bartsch left for Washington, D.C., to accept a position as an aid with William H. Dall, honorary curator of the Division of Mollusks, United States National Museum.
After entering into research on mollusks, Bartsch expanded his activities, pursuing ornithological investigations and teaching biology and zoology to university students. Interested in medicine and the biological training of medical students, Bartsch began teaching histology at the Medical School of Howard University in 1899. This position lasted for thirty-seven years when he became director of the Histological and Physiological Laboratory. In 1900, Bartsch began teaching zoology at George Washington University, becoming professor emeritus in 1945.
Bartsch's work at the United States National Museum, meanwhile, led to his appointment as assistant curator of the Division of Mollusks in 1905, and then curator of that division in 1914. He retired from his duties at the Smithsonian Institution in 1946. Bartsch's work on explorations included positions as the Smithsonian representative on board the Albatross Philippine Expedition (1907-1909) and director of the Thomas Barrera expedition to Cuba (1914); he received the Walter Rathbone Bacon Travelling Scholarship to explore the West Indies (1928-1930) and was director of the first Johnson-Smithsonian deep-sea expedition to the West Indies (1933), all of which are documented to some extent in these papers. In his expedition to the West Indies Bartsch was aided by his friend Carlos de la Torre. This resulted in their collaboration on the publications regarding the Annulariidae of Cuba, the Bahamas, and Hispanola, and the Cyclophoridae of the Americas. Their monograph, The Terrestrial Mollusks of the Family Urocoptidae in the Island of Cuba, is still unpublished.
This collection contains almost no private correspondence (for official correspondence see Museum of Natural History, Division of Mollusks, Record Unit 73).
Besides receiving his Ph.D. degree from the University of Iowa in 1905, Bartsch was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from George Washington University (1937). He was president of the Wild Flower Preservation Society (1920-1924), president of the Biological Society in Washington, D.C. (1913-1915), and vice-president of the Washington Academy (1913-1915), among other numerous memberships and offices which he held in scientific societies.

Administration

Author
Finding aid prepared by Smithsonian Institution Archives

Using the Collection

Prefered Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7089, Paul Bartsch Papers

More Information

Notes

Personal Papers


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Bartsch, Paul, 1871-1960 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Torre y Huerta, Carlos de la, 1858-1950 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States National Museum. Department of Zoology Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
George Washington University Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Howard University. School of Medicine Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Albatross Philippine Expedition (1907-1910) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Thomas Barrera Expedition to Cuba, circa 1918 Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Walter Rathbone Bacon Travelling Scholarship Expedition (1928-1930: West Indies) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian-Johnson Deep-Sea Expedition to the West Indies (1933) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian-Roebling Expedition to Cuba, 1937 Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
The Terrestrial Mollusks of the Family Urocoptidae in the Island of Cuba (Monograph) Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Invertebrate zoology Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ornithology Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Zoology Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wood -- Preservation Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mentoring Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mollusks Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Haiti Place Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Florida Keys (Fla.) Place Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
West Indies Place Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cuba Place Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuscripts Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Field notes Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Glass negatives Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color transparencies Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Black-and-white photographs Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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