Smithsonian Institution Archives

Arthur de Carle Sowerby Papers, 1904-1954 and undated

Summary

Collection ID:
SIA.FARU7263
Creators:
Sowerby, Arthur de Carle, 1885-1954
Dates:
1904-1954 and undated
Languages:
English
Physical Description:
14.05 cu. ft. (20 document boxes) (20 3x5 boxes) (1 5x8 box) (1 16x20 box)
Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives

Descriptive Entry

Descriptive Entry
These papers document the multi-faceted career of Arthur deC. Sowerby, especially his work as a naturalist and expedition member. They include correspondence, including a large amount with Robert Sterling Clark; fiscal records; material relating to his genealogical research and "The Sowerby Saga;" manuscripts, newspaper articles, and research notes, written by Sowerby; photographs and lantern slides; the papers of his third wife, Alice Muriel Cowans Sowerby; paintings, sketches, and poetry; and a notebook, a diary, and an autobiographical memoir.

Historical Note

Historical Note
Arthur deC. Sowerby (1885-1954), naturalist, explorer, artist, and editor was born in Tai-yuan Fu, Shansi province, China, where his father served as a British Baptist missionary. After a brief stay at Bristol University, England, Sowerby returned to China and began collecting specimens for the Natural History Museum in Tai-yuan Fu. In 1906, he was appointed to the staff of the Anglo-Chinese College at Tientsin as lecturer and curator of the Natural History Museum. He was a member of an expedition to the Ordos Desert in southern Mongolia in 1907, where he collected mammals for the British Museum (Natural History). In 1908, Sowerby joined American millionaire Robert Sterling Clark on an expedition into Shansi and Kansu provinces of north China. This began a long association with Clark who financed several collecting trips by Sowerby. Many of the specimens collected by the Clark-Sowerby expeditions were deposited in the United States National Museum. During the Chinese Revolution of 1911, Sowerby led a relief mission to evacuate foreign missionaries in Shensi and Sianfu provinces. During World War I, Sowerby served in France as Technical Officer in the Chinese Labour Corps. After the war, he settled in Shanghai and established The China Journal of Science and Arts, which he edited until the outbreak of World War II in 1941. During the war, Sowerby was interned by the Japanese Army in Shanghai. He came to the United States in 1949 and spent the remainder of his life in Washington, D.C. pursuing genealogical research which resulted in a family history, "The Sowerby Saga."

Administration

Author
Finding aid prepared by Smithsonian Institution Archives

Using the Collection

Prefered Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7263, Arthur de Carle Sowerby Papers

More Information

Notes

Personal Papers


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sowerby, Arthur de Carle, 1885-1954 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sowerby, Alice Muriel Cowens Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clark, Robert Sterling, 1877-1956 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of Bristol Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tientsin Anglo-Chinese College Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
British Museum (Natural History) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States National Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chinese Labour Corps Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sowerby-Clark Expedition to the Shansi and Kansu Provinces of Northern China (1908) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Natural history Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scientific expeditions Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
World War, 1939-1945 Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Explorers Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Naturalists Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Genealogists Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mongolia Place Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
China Place Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Shanxi Sheng (China) Place Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gansu Sheng (China) Place Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
China -- History$yRevolution, 1911-1912 Place Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scientific illustrations Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diaries Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Black-and-white photographs Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Black-and-white negatives Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lantern slides Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuscripts Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Journals (accounts) Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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