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National Anthropological Archives
William Edwin Safford photograph albums relating to Easter Island, Samoa, and South America, circa 1886-1902
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NAA.PhotoLot.76-26
- Creators:
-
Safford, William Edwin, 1859-1926
- Dates:
-
circa 1886-1902
- Languages:
-
Undetermined.
- Physical Description:
-
3 Albumscirca 145 printssilver gelatin
- Repository:
Scope and Contents note
Scope and Contents note
Photographs collected by Wiliam Edwin Safford while on US Navy expeditions to Chile, Easter Island, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, and Samoa. They depict Indigenous peoples and activities, towns, scenic views, and the crew of the USS Mohican and members of the US Navy. There are also photographs of Guatemala made by Alberto. G. Valdeavellano and J. A. Gonsalves. The Easter Island photographs were possibly made by William J. Thomson, paymaster on the Mohican.
Biographical/Historical note
Biographical/Historical note
William Edwin Safford (1859-1926) was a United States Naval officer from 1880-1902 who took part in Navy expeditions and collected specimens for the United States National Museum. Safford joined the crew of the USS Mohican in South America and participated in its expedition to the South Pacific (1886-1888). In 1891-1892, he commanded an ethnological expedition to Peru and Bolivia for the Chicago Columbian Expedition. He served in the Spanish American War and was vice-governor of Guam in 1899-1900. In 1902, he resigned from the Navy and took an appointment as an economic botanist with the United States Department of Agriculture.
Administration
Author
Sarah Ganderup
Custodial History note
The photographs were donated by Safford's wife to the Bureau of American Ethnology library, along with additional charts and a Samoan manuscript, 1926. They were transferred from the Department of Anthropology library to the National Anthropological Archives by Jannette Saquet, 1975.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use note
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Preferred Citation note
Photo lot 76-26, William Edwin Safford photograph albums relating to Easter Island, Samoa, and South America, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Location of Other Archival Materials
Location of Other Archival Materials
Additional photographs of the expedition to Easter Island can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 97.
Location of Other Archival Materials
Additional photographs collected by Safford can be found in National Anthropological Archives in MS 3366.
Location of Other Archival Materials
The Smithsonian Institution Archives holds the William Edwin Safford Papers, 1894-1925 (SIA RU007275).
Location of Other Archival Materials
Records relating to Safford's collecting expedition in South America can be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives in SIA RU000189.
Location of Other Archival Materials
Safford's ethnographic data about Samoa can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 2956.
More Information
Local Call Number(s)
Local Call Number(s)
NAA Photo Lot 76-26
Bibliography
Bibliography
Photographs published in "Te Pito Te Henua, or Easter Island," USNM Annual Report, 1888-'89, pg. 447-552.
Other Finding Aids note
Other Finding Aids note
Inventory available in repository.
Keywords
National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu
