Edwin Moody drawings of Samoa and Hawaii
odd: label: Local Numbers
content: NAA MS 130,592
USNM Accession 31,636
label: Variant Title
content: Scenes and natives of Samoa and Hawaii, signed "Moody"
name: label: Creator
content: Moody, Edwin
place: label: Place
content: Oceania
label: Place
content: Hawaii
label: Place
content: Samoan Islands
creator: label: Creator
content: Moody, Edwin
culture: label: Culture
content: Hawaiians
label: Culture
content: Samoans
setName: label: See more items in
content: Edwin Moody drawings of Samoa and Hawaii
bioghist: label: Historical Note
content: Edwin Moody accompanied Albert Barnes Steinberger to Samoa via Hawaii in 1873. Steinberger was sent as a special commissioner on behalf of the U.S. State Department to appraise the political situation in Samoa for President Grant.  In his Report upon Samoa or, the Navigator's Islands, Made to the Secretary of State (1874), Steinberger described Moody as a "practical artist who also acted as secretary."
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 63 Drawings (visual works) (watercolor, pencil, and colored pencil)
label: Extent
content: 5 Photographs
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1873
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: The collection was found in USNM object collections; no catalog or accession numbers appear on the drawings. They were probably received from the U.S. State Department, Washington, D. C., through George L. Rives, Asst. Secretary, February 2, 1889 (USNM accession number 31,636).
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.MS130592
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Drawings (visual works)
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Works of art
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The drawings are arranged in number order.  The significance of the numbers is unknown; the numbers do not represent a chronological arrangement.  Many numbers in the sequence are missing and some numbers are repeated.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: In 2002, the drawings were removed from their original backing boards.  Twenty-seven (27) drawings were rehoused in conservation mats.

The collection was reprocessed in 2022. The archivist replaced the titles previously assigned to the drawings and photographs with the titles provided by the artist. Untitled drawings were assigned titles in square brackets []. The drawings were arranged in number order.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Works of art
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of 63 drawings and 5 photographs of drawings created by Edwin Moody for Steinberger's expedition to Samoa in 1873.  The drawings document the voyages to and from Samoa, including stops in the Hawaiian islands.  Many of the drawings were made from shipboard and depict the coastlines of the various islands and harbors.  There are also drawings of Samoan and Hawaiian people and villages.

The drawings and photographs appear to have been prepared for publication as numbers appear in pencil on each mount. It is unknown if the drawings were ever published.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.