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Collection Number: 05268

Collection Title: George E. Stuart Collection of Archaeological and Other Materials, 1733-2006

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


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Size 5.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 3,700 items)
Abstract George Edwin Stuart is a white archaeologist, collector, cartographer, writer, editor, administrator, and scholar of the ancient Maya. He received a BS in geology from the University of South Carolina (1956), an MA in anthropology from George Washington University (1970), and a PhD in anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1975). Stuart participated in archeological excavations in South Carolina and Georgia, 1952-1958. After 1958, he concentrated on the Maya and other Mesoamerican civilizations, conducting field work in the Yucatan and Quintana Roo, Mexico. From 1960 to 1998, Stuart worked at the National Geographic Society, serving as Vice President for Research and Exploration, Chair of the Society's Committee for Research and Exploration, and Senior Assistant Editor for National Geographic Magazine. In addition to authoring numerous books, articles, and research reports, Stuart lectured at George Washington University, Catholic University, and Duke University. In 1998, Stuart and his wife Melinda founded the Boundary End Archaeology Research Center (formerly the Center for Maya Research) in Barnardsville, N.C. As of 2006, the Center housed a library, antiquities, and other materials related to the ancient Maya and the archaeology of the southeastern United States. Materials collected by George Stuart include papers related to several early Maya scholars and archaeologists, such as M. Latour Allard, Guillermo Dupaix, Edward King (Lord Kingsborough), Augustus Le Plongeon, William H. Prescott, Ephraim George Squier, John Lloyd Stephens, and Jean Frederic Waldeck; papers related to archaeologists of the southeastern United States, such as John P. Rogan and Cyrus Thomas; papers concerning the history of South Carolina, specifically Camden, S.C.; Civil War and Confederate papers, including engravings, newspapers, and miscellaneous documents; and other items, such as an 1869 diary of polar explorer Adolphus Greely written while traveling in the United States, letterhead of Adolf Hitler, a 1939 issue of Family Circle featuring the first published notice of Gone With the Wind, and the first issue of People Magazine. Also included are selected eighteenth and nineteenth-century newspapers from Hartford, Conn., Philadelphia, Pa., and Oneida, N.Y., and 1864-1866 newspapers from Campeche, Carmen, Merida, and Yucatan, Mexico. There is also a collection of copies of Augustus Le Plongeon and Alice Dixon Le Plongeon photographs compiled by archaeologist Lawrence G. Desmond. The photographs depict Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and other pre-Columbian archeological sites in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and Belize, 1873-1885. Also included are the papers of Jerome O. Kilmartin, a surveyor who mapped Chichen Itza and other Maya sites in the 1920s. The Kilmartin materials, 1922-2002, contain correspondence, diaries, photographs, and other items related to mapping projects at Chichen Itza, Mexico, and Lake Peten and Tikal, Guatemala, sponsored by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Included is material relating to a 1929 flight over the Yucatan area by Charles Lindbergh and Mayanist Alfred Vincent Kidder. There are also papers of brothers William Law, printer and commission merchant, and Andrew Law, musician and composer, both of Cheshire, Conn. These materials, 1782-1820, consist mostly of letters written to the brothers. Letters to Andrew Law deal largely with the success of his singing schools and the sale of his tune-books. Other letters, especially from Drayton M. Curtis, offer criticism of Law's innovative staff-less notation style and his modification of popular hymns. Letters to William Law, representing Minturn and Champlin of New York in Copenhagen, Denmark, and at other ports in Europe during the War of 1812, generally discuss the impact of the war on international trade and the prospects for peace between Great Britain and the United States.
Creator Stuart, George E.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the George Stuart Collection of Archeological and Other Materials #5268, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from George Stuart of Barnardsville, N.C., in 2006 (Acc. 100378, 100379, 100381, 100416) and February 2019 (Acc. 103552); from Desmond Lawrence in August 2007 (Acc. 100780); and from Melinda Y. Stuart in June 2016 (Acc. 102611).
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Noah Huffman, November 2006

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, November 2006; Gergana Abernathy, June 2016

Revisions by: Gergana Abernathy, June 2016; Nancy Kaiser, February 2019

Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

George Edwin Stuart is a white archaeologist, cartographer, writer, editor, administrator, and scholar of the ancient Maya. He received a BS in geology from the University of South Carolina (1956), an MA in anthropology from George Washington University (1970), and a PhD in anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1975). Between 1952 and 1958, Stuart participated in archeological excavations in South Carolina and Georgia. After 1958, he began to concentrate on Mesoamerican and Maya archaeology and conducted field work in the Yucatan and Quintana Roo, Mexico. From 1960 to 1998, Stuart worked at the National Geographic Society serving as Vice President for Research and Exploration, Chair of the Society's Committee for Research and Exploration, and Senior Assistant Editor for National Geographic Magazine . In addition to authoring numerous books, articles, and research reports, Stuart lectured at George Washington University, Catholic University, and Duke University. He authored a general book on Maya culture, Lost Kingdoms of the Maya (1993). After retiring from the National Geographic Society in 1998, Stuart and his wife Melinda founded the Boundary End Archaeology Research Center (formerly the Center for Maya Research) in Barnardsville, N.C. As of 2006, the Center housed a library, antiquities, and other materials related to Stuart's research on the ancient Maya and the archaeology of the southeastern United States. Stuart's son, David Stuart, is an expert on the written language of the ancient Maya and a Professor of Mesoamerican Art and Writing at the University of Texas at Austin.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Materials collected by George Stuart, a white archaeologist, cartographer, writer, editor, administrator, and scholar of the ancient Maya, include papers related to several early Maya scholars and archaeologists, such as M. Latour Allard, Guillermo Dupaix, Edward King (Lord Kingsborough), Augustus Le Plongeon, William H. Prescott, Ephraim George Squier, John Lloyd Stephens, and Jean Frederic Waldeck; papers related to archaeologists of the southeastern United States, such as John P. Rogan and Cyrus Thomas; papers concerning the history of South Carolina, specifically Camden, S.C.; Civil War and Confederate papers, including engravings, newspapers, and miscellaneous documents; and other items, such as an 1869 diary of polar explorer Adolphus Greely, letterhead of Adolf Hitler, a 1939 issue of Family Circle featuring the first published notice of Gone With the Wind, and the first issue of People Magazine. Also included are selected eighteenth and nineteenth-century newspapers from Hartford, Conn., Philadelphia, Pa., and Oneida, N.Y., and newspapers from Campeche, Carmen, Merida, and Yucatan, Mexico from 1864 to 1866. There is also a large collection of copies of Augustus Le Plongeon and Alice Dixon Le Plongeon photographs compiled by archaeologist Lawrence G. Desmond. Augustus Le Plongeon (1826-1908) and Alice Dixon Le Plongeon photographed Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and other pre-Columbian archeological sites of the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and Belize between 1873 and 1885. The Le Plongeon materials include photographic prints, negatives, slides, catalogs, and correspondence between Lawrence Desmond and George Stuart, to whom Desmond donated the photographic collection in 2001. In addition, Stuart acquired the papers of Jerome O. Kilmartin, a surveyor who mapped Chichen Itza and other Maya sites in the 1920s, and the papers of printer and commission merchant William Law and his brother, composer Andrew Law, both of Cheshire, Conn. Materials in the Kilmartin Collection, 1922-2002, include correspondence, diaries, and photographs related to mapping projects at Chichen Itza, Mexico, and Lake Peten, Guatemala, and Tikal, Guatemala, sponsored by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Included is material relating to a 1929 flight over the Yucatan area by Charles Lindbergh and Mayanist Alfred Vincent Kidder. Materials in the William and Andrew Law Papers, 1782-1820, consist mostly of letters written to the brothers. Letters to Andrew Law deal largely with the success of his singing schools and the sale of his tune-books. Other letters, especially from Drayton M. Curtis, offer criticism of Law's innovative staff-less notation style and his modification of popular hymns. Letters to merchant William Law representing Minturn and Champlin of New York in Copenhagen, Denmark, and at other ports in Europe during the War of 1812, generally discuss the impact of the war on international trade and the prospects for peace between Great Britain and the United States. Correspondents of William Law include associates of Minturn and Champlin, commission merchants of New York; agents of other merchants in Europe; cargo ship captains; and financiers.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Archeological Materials, 1805-2006.

About 35 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Items collected by George Stuart relating to prominent archaeologists and the history of archaeology in Mexico and the southeastern United States.

Folder 1

Guillermo Dupaix: Document, 1805

Between 1805 and 1809, Guillermo Dupaix explored and researched indigenous artifacts in Mexico under the sponsorship of King Carlos IV. A 27 February 1805 document (in Spanish) issued in Guadalajara, Mexico, authorizes Dupaix to conduct his archeological research and appears to be signed by several Mexican officials.

Folder 2

Yucatan: Printed document, 1815

Document in Spanish headed "El Rey" that appears to be a proclamation of the King of Spain issued to the Spanish colonial governor of the Yucatan.

Folder 3

Jean Frederic Waldeck sketches, circa 1820-1830

Three annotated pencil sketches of Mayan antiquities from the Lord Kingsborough collection accompanied by a 23 September 1848 letter from historian William H. Prescott to anthropologist Ephraim George Squier regarding a loan from the Kingsborough collection.

Oversize Paper OP-5268/1

Edward King (Lord Kingsborough) manuscripts, circa 1820-1830

Edward King, Lord Kingsborough, author of Antiquities of Mexico (1829) , was a scholar of early Mesoamerican civilizations and culture. Several bound manuscripts, probably authored by Kingsborough, describe Mesoamerican antiquities and customs. There are also notes on biblical texts as they relate to Mesoamericans, as Kingsborough believed that ancient Mexicans descended from one of the "Lost Tribes of Israel." Also included is a list of items in the Latour-Allard collection of Mexican antiquities.

Folder 4

Ephraim George Squier: Letters of Recommendation, 1849

A book containing several letters of recommendation for anthropologist Ephraim George Squier to conduct research in Central America. Recommenders include members of the New York Historical Society, William H. Prescott, Edward Everett, Washington Irving, George Folsom, Washington Hunt, Frances Leiber, Alonso Potter, O. H. Marshall, John Lloyd Stephens, Hugh White, G. P. Marsh, H. B. Anthony, William Bebb, Joseph Trumbull, and Jared Sparks.

Oversize Paper OP-5268/2

Biography of John Lloyd Stephens, circa 1855

A short handwritten biography of Stephens in Spanish by Crescencio Carrillo y Ancona.

Folder 5

Cyrus Thomas

Handwritten report, "How to Dig and Indian Mound," (1883).

Folder 6

John P. Rogan

"Notes on Mounds in Georgia" (1880s). Records the location, details, and measurements of Indian mounds primarily in Bartow County, Ga.

Folder 7

Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing

Reports 28 and 29 by Michael D. Coe and George Stuart, November 1989.

Oversize Paper OP-5268/3

Weaverville Tribune (Weaverville, N.C.), 8 February 2006

Contains an article on the Boundary End Archaeology and Research Center in Barnardsville, N.C., founded by George Stuart.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1A. Drawing of La Mojarra Stela, undated (Addition of February 2019).

About 200 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 103552

Representational drawing of La Mojarra Stela, a carved monument in southeastern Veracruz State, Mexico; also included are transparencies of elements created from archaeological rubbings of the original.

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-05268/1

La Mojarra Stela

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-05268/2

La Mojarra Stela: Transparencies

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. South Carolina Papers, 1776-1875.

About 40 items.

Correspondence, newspapers, maps, and other materials collected by George Stuart pertaining to Camden, S.C., and other South Carolina locales. See also folders 19-21 for volumes listing rare books, many of which are about South Carolina.

Folder 8

Camden, S.C.

Typescript of General Lafayette's reception ceremony in Camden in March 1825; land indenture between Thomas Farr and Joseph Kershaw of Camden, 1776; receipts and other papers related to Camden, 1860s-1875.

Oversize Paper OP-5268/4

Camden, S.C.: Newspapers

The Camden Confederate, 21 August 1863 and 4 September 1863. #05268, Series 2. South Carolina Papers, 1776-1875., Opaper OP-5268/4
Camden Journal and Confederate, 10 March 1865 #05268, Series 2. South Carolina Papers, 1776-1875., Opaper OP-5268/4
Framed Item FI-5268/1

Map of Kershaw District and Camden, S.C., 1825.

Folder 9

Additional South Carolina materials

Correspondence, official papers, land indentures, checks, and other papers collected by George Stuart from Columbia, Charleston, and other locations in South Carolina. Of interest is a 13 December 1862 letter from Professor John LeConte to F. W. Pickens regarding a lead mine in Spartanburg, S.C.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Civil War Papers, 1861-1864.

About 35 items.

Correspondence, official papers, receipts, and engravings collected by George Stuart related to the Civil War and the Confederate States of America.

Folder 10

Correspondence, receipts, and other papers, 1861-1864

Items include a list of officers under the command of Brigadier General Barnard E. Bee killed during the battles of Manassas, Cold Harbor, Atlanta, and Secessionville, S.C.; various special orders issued by the Confederate States of America; lists of supplies and market prices; and various receipts.

Folder 11

Engravings

Engravings of Jefferson Davis, Joseph E. Johnston, Robert E. Lee., Louis McLane, Benedict Arnold, and Charles Lee. Engravings of Davis, Johnston, and Lee are by E. A. Pollard.

Oversize Paper OP-5268/5

Civil War era newspapers, 1863-1865

The Tri-Weekly Mercury (Charleston, S.C.), 21 April 1863 #05268, Series 3. Civil War Papers, 1861-1864., Opaper OP-5268/5
New York Tribune, 4 April 1865 #05268, Series 3. Civil War Papers, 1861-1864., Opaper OP-5268/5
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Other Papers, 1733-1974.

About 65 items.

Manuscripts, printed matter, and other materials collected by George Stuart.

Folder 12

Correspondence, autographs, receipts, and fragments, 1792-1949

A 1792 letter from Benjamin Hodges to Captain Nichols; a 1796 letter from Newport, R.I.; a signature of Huey Long; a 1949 letter from Bernard M. Baruch to George Stuart; and other papers and fragments.

Folder 13

Deed, 1733

Deed for land from Daniel Hall, blacksmith, of Barnstable County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, to David Hall of Worcester County.

Folder 14

The Balance and Columbia Repository (1804)

Folder 15

Printed matter

The Comic Almanac (1859) #05268, Series 4. Other Papers, 1733-1974., Folder 15
The Farmers' and Planters' Almanac (1861) #05268, Series 4. Other Papers, 1733-1974., Folder 15
Folder 16

Adolphus Greely Diary, 1869

Original diary of polar explorer Adolphus Greely. Contains daily entries from 1 January 1869 to 14 September 1869 describing Greely's travels to Fort Greble, Washington, D.C.; Chicago, Ill.; Omaha, Neb.; Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming Territory; Fort Sedgwick, Colorado Territory; and Newburyport, Mass. Greely also recorded his New Year's resolutions, which included "to write to Mother at least once per week, to spend at least one hour per day in useful reading and study," and "to endeavor to cease swearing."

Folder 17

Magazines

Family Circle, 30 June 1939, featuring the first published notice of Gone With the Wind. #05268, Series 4. Other Papers, 1733-1974., Folder 17
People, 4 March 1974 (first issue). #05268, Series 4. Other Papers, 1733-1974., Folder 17
Folder 18

Adolf Hitler: Letterhead

Folder 19-21

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Folder 21

George Stuart: Record books, circa 1950s

Two volumes listing titles, descriptions, and prices for a number of rare books, mostly related to South Carolina history. A third book contains several transcribed letters from eighteenth and nineteenth-century South Carolina.

Folder 22

Pope Gregory I

Four leaves from an early printed book (in Italian).

Folder 23

Flag

A handmade Confederate flag with eleven stars and three stripes.

Folder 64

Friendship autograph book of Cora M. Alford, 1858-1881

Addition of June 2016 (Acc. 102611).

A bound volume with pre-printed illustrations largely containing notes of farewell to Cora M. Alford dating from 1858-1859. A number of signees list themselves as being in Bastrop, Tex., and at the Bastrop Military Institute and refer to school days spent together with Cora.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 5. Newspapers, 1791-1869.

118 items.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 5.1. United States Newspapers, 1791-1869.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 5.2. Mexican Newspapers, 1864-1866.

108 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Newspapers from Campeche, Carmen, Merida, and Yucatan, Mexico.

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Campeche, Mexico: La Restauracion: Periodico Oficial del Departamento de Campeche , 6 January 1865-13 March 1866

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Carmen, Mexico: La Bandera Nacional: Periodico Oficial del Gobierno del Territorio del Carmen , 13 August 1864-22 April 1865

Oversize Paper OP-5268/70-79

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Merida, Mexico: Periodico Oficial del Departamento de Merida, 3 March 1865-24 March 1865

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Yucatan, Mexico: Periodico Oficial del Departamento de Yucatan , 31 July 1865-20 December 1865

Oversize Paper OP-5268/123

Photocopies of various Mexican newspapers

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 6. Lawrence G. Desmond Collection of Augustus Le Plongeon and Alice Dixon Le Plongeon Photographs, 1979-2001.

About 3000 items.

A collection of duplicates of Alice Dixon Le Plongeon and Augustus Le Plongeon photographs compiled by archaeologist Lawrence G. Desmond with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The original photos are located in the American Museum of Natural History, the Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and Humanities, the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, and the Philosophical Research Society. Augustus Le Plongeon, 1826-1908, and Alice Dixon Le Plongeon, 1851-1910, were both professional photographers and scholars of Mayan civilization. Between 1873 and 1885, the Le Plongeons systematically photographed Chichen Itza and other pre-Columbian archeological sites of the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and Belize despite the ongoing political turmoil in the region. Many of their photographs depict ruins and structures that have changed considerably in the century since the images were captured. In addition to ruins, the Le Plongeons also photographed the people, landscape, and colonial architecture in these areas. Materials in this collection include photographic prints, negatives, slides, catalogs, and correspondence between Desmond and George Stuart, to whom Desmond donated the collection in 2001.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 6.1. Le Plongeon Photographic Collection: Administrative Papers, 1979-2001.

About 200 items.

Catalogs, correspondence, and other papers concerning the Le Plongeon photographic collection.

Folder 24

The Nineteenth Century Photographs of Alice Dixon Le Plongeon and Augustus Le Plongeon: a Catalog (2001)

A detailed catalog compiled by Lawrence G. Desmond with background on the Le Plongeon collection and its provenance. A bibliography is also included.

Folder 25

Catalog of the Le Plongeon Collection at the American Museum of Natural History

Folder 26

Catalog of the Le Plongeon Collection at the Getty Research Institute

Folder 27

Catalog of the Le Plongeon Collection at the Peabody Museum at Harvard

Folder 28

Catalog of the Le Plongeon Collection at the Philosophical Research Society

Folder 29

2 Floppy disks (FD-5268/1-2) containing catalog information

Folder 30

Inventory of the Le Plongeon Materials Donated to the Center for Maya Research, Barnardsville, N.C.

Folder 31

Correspondence and reports, 1979-1983

Correspondence between Desmond and Stuart related to the Le Plongeon Collection

Folder 32

Photocopies of Augustus Le Plongeon letters, August 1902

Folder 33

Correspondence and other materials, 1988-1996

Concerns Desmond's application for a research grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to survey Chichen Itza.

Folder 34

Correspondence, 1981

Concerns possible carbon dating of a Maya Codex. Photocopies of the codex are included.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 6.1A. Le Plongeon Photographic Collection: Administrative Papers, 1985-2004 (Addition of August 2007).

About 200 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 100780

Correspondence, National Endowment for the Humanities grant drafts, and a catalog relating to Larry Desmond's gift of Le Plongeoniana photographs given to the Center for Maya Research.

Box 13

Papers, 1985-2004

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 6.2. Le Plongeon Photographic Collection: Prints, Negatives, and Slides, 1979-2001.

About 2800 items.

Arrangement: by type.

Duplicates of photographic prints, negatives, and slides of photographs originally taken by Augustus Le Plongeon and Alice Dixon Le Plongeon during their research trips to the Yucatan region of Mexico from 1873 to 1885. The photographs primarily depict Maya and other pre-Columbian archaeological sites in Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and elsewhere in the Yucatan. There are also photographs of site workers and other people of the area. Original photographs are located in the American Museum of Natural History, the Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and Humanities, the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, and the Philosophical Research Society.

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Photographic prints, negatives, and slides, 1979-2001

Oversize Paper OP-5268/124

Color reproductions of a Maya codex

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 7. Jerome O. Kilmartin Collection, 1922-2002.

About 600 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Jerome O. Kilmartin was a surveyor employed by the United States Geological Survey and the Carnegie Institution of Washington. During the 1920s, Kilmartin mapped archaeological sites of the Maya for the Carnegie Institution. These sites included Lake Peten, Guatemala (near Tikal), and Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico. In the 1950s and 1960s, he served as an advisor to the Tikal Project, a project to map and excavate Maya ruins at Tikal, Guatemala, organized by the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. Materials in the collection include Kilmartin's correspondence with associates of the Carnegie Institution such as Sylvanus G. Morley, Oliver Ricketson Jr., and Witherow A. Love, as well as with other Mayanists such as Alfred V. Kidder and Michael D. Coe. Also included are a diary kept by Kilmartin while at Chichen Itza, 1923-1924; correspondence regarding the Tikal Project, 1950s-1960s; reports; topographical maps of Chichen Itza and Tikal; and photographs of ruins and artifacts at Chichen Itza, 1923-1929.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 7.1. Correspondence, diaries, and reports, 1922-2002.

Materials include correspondence regarding Kilmartin's mapping work at Lake Peten, Guatemala, and Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico, for the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1922-1929; diaries, 1923-1924, 1927-1928; correspondence regarding survey work in Tikal, Guatemala, 1956-1969; and other correspondence, reports, and clippings.

Folder 35

Lake Peten Survey: Correspondence, 1922

Notice saying that Kilmartin is to conduct a topographical survey to determine the shoreline of Lake Peten before the arrival of the Spanish.

Folder 36

Lake Peten and Chichen Itza Surveys: Correspondence, 1923

Correspondence mostly with Sylvanus G. Morley of the Carnegie Institution of Washington regarding Kilmartin's topographical survey work at Lake Peten, Guatemala, and Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico. Letters discuss travel to the area, living conditions, equipment, and salaries. Other correspondents include Oliver Ricketson Jr. and Witherow A. Love.

Folder 37

Chichen Itza Survey: Diary, 1922-1923

Kilmartin describes his travels in Puerto Rico, Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico, as well as his survey work at Chichen Itza during the fall and winter of 1923. Entries from December 1923 discuss the ongoing socialist revolution in Yucatan led by Felipe Carillo Puerto and its effect on Kilmartin's survey work. On December 12, Kilmartin wrote "I hardly think that the revolution will reach here, but you never know."

Folder 38

Chichen Itza Survey: Correspondence, 1924

Correspondence with Sylvanus Morley and others at the Carnegie Institution of Washington regarding field work at Chichen Itza.

Folder 39

Chichen Itza Survey: Correspondence, 1925

Folder 40

Chichen Itza Survey: Correspondence, 1926

Folder 41

Diary, 1927-1928

Kilmartin discussed his travels and survey work in Hawaii and elsewhere in the United States for the United States Geological Survey.

Folder 42

Chichen Itza Survey: Correspondence, 1928

At the request of Sylvanus G. Morley, Kilmartin returned to Chichen Itza in winter 1928/1929 to oversee work at the site for the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Folder 43

Chichen Itza Survey: Correspondence, 1929

Letters from Sylvanus G. Morley and Oliver Ricketson Jr. discuss field work at Chichen Itza. In a 15 October 1929 letter, Ricketson described a reconnaissance flight over the Yucatan area with Charles A. Lindbergh and A. V. Kidder. "It is one hell of a country as seen from the air," Ricketson wrote.

Folder 44

Chichen Itza Survey: Photocopies of Correspondence, 1922-1929

Photocopies of all of Kilmartin's correspondence pertaining to his survey work with the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Folder 45

Correspondence, 1931-1950

Letters from Sylvanus G. Morley and others discussing the Carnegie Institution's ongoing field work in Mexico.

Folder 46

Tikal Project: Correspondence, 1956-1958

In 1956 the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania organized the Tikal Project to map and excavate Maya ruins at Tikal, Guatemala. Kilmartin served as an unofficial advisor to the surveying component of the project. Correspondence with archaeologist Harry D. Pollock, Tikal Project field director Edwin Shook, and others concerns surveying activities at Tikal and the hiring of Robert Carr to complete a topographical map of the area.

Folder 47

Tikal Project: Correspondence, 1959

Folder 48

Tikal Project: Correspondence, 1960

Folder 49

Tikal Project: Correspondence, 1961

Letters from Edwin Shook and William R. Coe discussing mapping work at Tikal and Kilmartin's planned visit to the site.

Folder 50

Tikal Project: Correspondence, 1962-1964

Letters from Edwin Shook regarding the successful completion of the Tikal map.

Folder 51

Tikal Project: Correspondence, 1965-1969

Folder 52

Correspondence, 1973-1977

In a 21 April 1975, letter Kilmartin discussed the contents of his personal papers and reminisced about his experiences at Lake Peten and Chichen Itza.

Folder 53

Reports

Several reports and inventories of USGS records pertaining to survey work in Guatemala and Mexico.

Folder 54

Personal material

Love-letters, poems, greeting cards, and invitations received by Kilmartin from friends and admirers. Also included is a notebook kept by Kilmartin that contains quotations, poems, and selections from literature.

Folder 55

Clippings

Clippings concerning Kilmartin's career, Mayan archaeology, and other topics of interest to him.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 7.2. Photographs, Negatives, and Maps, 1919-1959.

Materials include photographs and negatives of the Lake Peten area and the Chichen Itza site, 1922-1929. Some images are annotated and depict Maya ruins, artifacts, field work, and locals. Also included are aerial photographs of the Tikal area; topographical maps of Lake Peten, Chichen Itza, and Tikal; an original print of Robert E. Lee, 1864; and several photographs of Beatrice Igoe of Summersville, S.C., presumably an admirer of Kilmartin.

Image Folder P-5268/47

Chichen Itza: Photographs, 1923-1929

Photographs of ruins and field work at the Chichen Itza site. Some photographs depict nearby towns.

Image Folder P-5268/48

Chichen Itza: Negatives, 1923-1929

Image Folder P-5268/49

Tikal: Photographs, circa 1950s

Nine mounted photos of the Tikal archaeological site depicting ruins and field work.

Image Folder P-5268/50

Tikal: Aerial photographs, 1954

Image Folder P-5268/51

Topographical maps, 1923-1959

Topographical maps of Lake Peten, Guatemala, 1923, and Chichen Itza, 1924,1935, prepared by Kilmartin. Also included are 1959 maps of Tikal prepared by surveyors associated with the University of Pennsylvania's Tikal Project.

Image Folder P-5268/52

Robert E. Lee: Photographic print, 1864

Original 1864 print of General Robert E. Lee given to Kilmartin by Otis Fitchett in August, 1954. A note on the reverse gives the provenance of the photo.

Image Folder P-5268/53

Personal photographs, 1919-1955

Two photographs of Beatrice Igoe ("Trixy") of Summersville, S.C., presumably an admirer of Kilmartin, and photographs of other friends and acquaintances.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 8. William and Andrew Law Papers, 1782-1820.

About 60 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

William Law and Andrew Law, 1749-1821, were brothers and natives of Cheshire, Conn. Andrew Law was an ordained minister in the Congregational and Presbyterian churches, but was best known as a composer and teacher of music. During his career, Andrew Law established numerous singing schools throughout New England and oversaw apprentice singing masters at schools across the middle South. In addition to teaching, Law published several collections of hymns and other tune-books including Select Harmony (1782) and The Rudiments of Music. In his publications, Law implemented a staffless shape-notation style, an innovation that he thought would revolutionize printed music. Despite his best efforts at self-promotion, Law's staffless notation drew the ire of most musicians and ultimately curtailed sales of many of his works. Even so, Law was one of the most prolific and publicized American composers of his era.

William Law, unlike his brother, spent most of his career as a representative of various American shipping interests in European and Oriental trade. As an agent of commission merchants Minturn and Champlin of New York, Law oversaw the activities of the merchant vessels Alexander Mansfield and the Lion from posts in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Sweden. During the War of 1812 and the ongoing conflicts in Europe that stifled international trade, Law struggled to preserve his company's shipping interests. In late 1814, Minturn and Champlin sold the Alexander Mansfield and the Lion, and discontinued their relationship with Law, fearing that the continued prospect of war would bankrupt their shipping interests abroad.

Materials in the collection consist mostly of letters to William and Andrew Law. Letters to Andrew Law deal largely with the success of his singing schools and the sale of his tune-books. Other letters, especially from Drayton M. Curtis, offer criticism of Law's notation style and his modification of popular hymns. Letters to William Law in Copenhagen, Denmark, and elsewhere in Europe during the War of 1812 generally discuss the impact of the war on shipping interests and the prospects for peace. Some letters discuss the prices of goods such as coffee, tea, and sugar, and others concern prevailing exchange rates among European countries. Correspondents include associates of Minturn and Champlin of New York, as well as agents of other commission merchants in London, ship captains, and financiers.

Folder 56

Correspondence, 29 September 1791-9 September 1792

Letters from Thomas Atwill in Baltimore to Andrew Law discussing Atwill's troubled attempts to sell Law's tune-books. Law accused Atwill of mismanaging his interests and pocketing money from his book sales.

Folder 57

Correspondence, 12 April 1799-9 December 1813

Letters to William and Andrew Law. Of note is a 14 August 1804 letter from William Law near Chambersburg, Pa., to Jesse Atwater in which Law discussed the prevalence of disease in the area. "It was never half as sickly here before," Law wrote. "It has spread over a large part of the country." Other items include registration papers dated 11 March 1812 and 4 April 1812 for the cargo vessels Alexander Mansfield and the Lion at the Port of New York and the Port of Philadelphia, respectively. A 20 July 1813 letter from J. Cuthbert to William Law in Copenhagen notes "the departure of the Emperor from Paris," the removal of the Swedish army from Berlin, and the arrival of Lord Wellington at Bayonne. Cuthbert also discussed a naval battle between the Chesapeake and the Shannon "in which the captain of the Chesapeake was killed being run through with a pike in attempting to board." Although there was a temporary armistice, according to Cuthbert, "it is expected that hostilities will recommence immediately."

Folder 58

Correspondence, 9 February 1814-15 July 1814

Mostly letters to William Law in Copenhagen, Denmark, although there are some copies of letters sent by Law. Letters generally discuss the impact of hostilities on trade, the sale of the cargo vessels Alexander Mansfield and the Lion, and peace negotiations between Great Britain and the United States. In an 11 June 1814 letter, W. J. Willink of Amsterdam noted that accounts from New York indicated that the embargo may be removed. He also gave an account of trade goods in his care and prices on coffee, sugar, cotton, pepper, tobacco, and iron. In a 15 July 1814 letter, commission merchants Minturn and Champlin of New York advised Law that if hostilities continued the company's merchant vessels should be sold, but if peace were restored, they should be maintained.

Folder 59

Correspondence, 13 September 1814-10 December 1814

Mostly letters to William Law in Copenhagen, Denmark, concerning shipping interests and the prospect of peace between Great Britain and the United States. Letters address peace negotiations at Ghent and the sale of the vessels Alexander Mansfield and the Lion to W. John Minturn. In a 28 September 1814 letter to Law, Minturn and Champlin wrote that the continuance of the war "has reduced to a state of bankruptcy a great portion of our merchants and destroyed almost entirely all mercantile confidence." A 10 December 1814 letter from Drayton M. Curtis of Chillicothe, Ohio, to Andrew Law discussed the progress of singing school in the region and the acceptance of Law's tune-books. Curtis criticized Law at length for his alteration of "many old favorite tunes," but noted that "we hope to see an entire reformation in singing."

Folder 60

Correspondence, 5 January 1815-1 November 1815

Letters to William and Andrew Law concern William's merchant business and Andrew's music publications respectively. Correspondence with William Law discussed the prospects for peace between Great Britain and the United States at Ghent and the effect that peace will have on international trade. An 18 February 1815 letter from John O. Rainals in Copenhagen to William Law in London noted that "the return of blessings of peace between Great Britain and the United States we hope will give new life to trade." Letters from Drayton M. Curtis to Andrew Law offer criticism of Law's tune-books and notation style. In a 2 March 1815 letter, Curtis wrote that "concerning your plan of music, I am far from convinced that it will be eventually found a real improvement." Curtis also noted that Law's "radical notation" style was "not good for those who play on instruments."

Folder 61

Correspondence, 20 March 1816-25 March 1820

Mostly letters to Andrew Law regarding his printed music. Correspondents include Drayton M. Curtis of Chillicothe, Ohio, and D. H. Mason of Philadelphia. A 30 July 1819 letter from William Law to Andrew Law discussed their father's business affairs in New England and other disputes over land.

Folder 62

Andrew Law: Receipts, bills, and printed matter, 1782-1820

Receipts and invoices for sales of Law's tune-books. Also included is a printed document titled "Testimonials in favor of the new method of noting and printing music" that includes quotes from professors of music at Dartmouth College, Windsor, Vermont, and New York. There is also a printed "List of principal assessors in the U.S. and Post Offices by which they are to be addressed."

Folder 63

William Law: Financial papers, 1782-1813

Financial papers related to William Law's employment as a representative of Minturn and Champlin, commission merchants of New York. Items include an account of payments made to William Law for use of the cargo ship Alexander Mansfield from 1812 to 1813, and accounts of Adam Champlin for expenses incurred in Copenhagen, 1812-1813.

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