Catalogue of 2516 ethnological specimens, numbered 1-2487.

Several reports covering the scientific work of the expedition were made, and most were published. One of the exceptions was the ichthyology report, which Charles Pickering was originally assigned to prepare. It was delayed, however; and by the middle of 1849, Jean Louis Agassiz had been placed in charge of the work. Due to the pressures of hi...

The papers in the Abbott collection appear to have been brought together in the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology in order to process ethnological specimens from Malaya and Indonesia and to prepare an exhibit and publications. Included are some of Abbott's original letters, notes, maps, and a considerable number of photographs. Most of these materials concern the Enggano, Jakun, and Dyak. Many other documents in the collection consist of copies of or extracts from Abbott's letters, the originals of which are now in the Smithsonian Institution Archives. There are also letters and other materials of Otis Tufton Mason and Walter Hough accumulated as they worked on the collection, many simple lists of accessions compiled in the Department of Anthropology, and a few manuscripts. In addition, there are printed materials that were apparently used by the department's staff for reference purposes. Some of the photographs made in Borneo in 1914 are by Henry Cushier Raven, a field assistant of Abbott and, later, a collector financed by Abbott. Additional materials of Abbott and Raven are in the Smithsonian Institution Archives, and their material (often duplicate photographs) are included in several collections in the National Anthropological Archives.

This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women’s Committee.

Records prior to 1907 consist mostly of incoming correspondence (outgoing correspondence can be found in record unit 112). After 1907 the records contain both incoming and outgoing correspondence. Much of the material consists of routine public inquiries. In addition, these records document museum accessions and Smithsonian expeditions and ...

This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women’s Committee.

Materials in this record unit were donated to the Archives by Lucile Quarry Mann and the National Zoological Park between 1977 and 1988. During 1980 and 1981, Lucile Mann narrated the 16mm motion picture on audiotape with scripts by Pamela M. Henson, Oral Historian. In 1985, the motion picture was transferred to a 3/4" videotape and the t...

This collection documents Mearns' career as a field naturalist and expedition member and consists of correspondence, 1898-1909, including photocopies of letters written by Mearns while he served on the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition of 1909; biographical material on Mearns and his family; field notes, research notes, specimen lists, ...

The papers of Waldo LaSalle Schmitt provide comprehensive documentation of his professional career, 1907-1977. They also illustrate, to a lesser degree, his personal life. Particularly well represented in the papers is material concerning Schmitt's carcinological research, his curatorial and administrative careers at the United States Nat...

The Matthew Williams Stirling and Marion Stirling Pugh papers, 1876-2004 (bulk 1921-1975), document the professional and personal lives of Matthew Stirling, Smithsonian archaeologist and Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology (1928-1957), and his wife and constant collaborator, Marion Stirling Pugh. The bulk of the material is professional in nature and includes material from Matthew's early career in the 1920s, the careers of Matthew and Marion together from when they married in 1933 to Matthew's death in 1975, and Marion's life and work from 1975 until her death in 2001. The majority of the documentation relates to the investigation of the Olmec culture in Mexico by the Stirlings, including the discoveries of eight colossal Olmec heads. In addition, the collection documents their work in Panama, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, looking for connections between Mesoamerica and South America. Materials include field notes, journals, correspondence, photographs, writings, clippings, ephemera, articles, and scrapbooks.