William Henry Holmes photograph collection relating to archeological sites in Mexico and Mesoamerica
odd: label: Local Call Number(s)
content: NAA Photo Lot 73-44, NAA Photo Lot 66B, USNM ACC 89688
name: label: Collector
content: Holmes, William Henry, 1846-1933
label: Photographer
content: Armour, Allison V.
label: Photographer
content: Maudslay, Alfred Percival, 1850-1931
label: Photographer
content: Thompson, E. H.
place: label: Place
content: Uxmal Site (Mexico)
label: Place
content: Palenque Site (Mexico)
label: Place
content: Mitla Site (Mexico)
label: Place
content: Chichén Itzá Site (Mexico)
label: Place
content: Copán Site (Honduras)
label: Place
content: Quiriguá Site (Guatemala)
label: Place
content: Xochicalco Site (Mexico)
label: Place
content: Honduras -- Antiquities
label: Place
content: Guatemala -- Antiquities
label: Place
content: Mexico -- Antiquities
creator: label: Collector
content: Holmes, William Henry, 1846-1933
culture: label: Culture
content: Mayas
label: Culture
content: Aztec (archaeological culture)
label: Culture
content: Zapotec
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: William Henry Holmes (1846-1933) was an artist, geologist, and archeologist who spent most of his career with the United States Geological Survey of the Territories, United States Geological Survey, Bureau of American Ethnology, and Department of Anthropology of the Smithsonian. From 1894-1897, he was the head of anthropology at the Field Columbian Museum (Field Museum of Natural History) and on the staff of the University of Chicago. During this time, he carried out investigations of ancient ruins in the Yucatan and other areas of Mesoamerica as a member of an expedition of Allison V. Armour. Many of the prints in this collection seem to relate to that expedition, and similar images were published in Holmesʹs reports in the Field Columbian Museum Anthropological Series, volume 1, number 1, 1895. Holmes served as head curator for the US National Museum Department of Anthropology from 1897-1902 and head of the BAE from 1902-1909.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 printed color diagram
label: Extent
content: 31 Prints (silver gelatin)
unitdate: label: Date
content: undated
custodhist: label: Custodial History note
content: Seven photographs were donated by William Henry Holmes to the United States National Museum in 1923 (accession 89688). The rest were transferred from the Department of Anthropology, 1973.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.PhotoLot.73-44
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Prints
label: Type
content: Photographs
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
otherfindaid: label: Other Finding Aids note
content: Partial inventory available in repository.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: Photographs documenting archeological sites in Mexico, including Chichen Itza, Mitla, Palenque, Texcotzingo, Uxmal, Xochicalco, Quirigua, and Copan. Some of the prints were originally framed and captioned; these may have formed an exhibit or display, possibly in Holmesʹs office. Photographers include Allison V. Armour, Alfred Percival Maudsley, and E. H. Thompson.
relatedmaterial: label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: Photo Lot 66B has been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 73-44. These photographs were also collected by William Henry Holmes and form part of this collection.
label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: Correspondence by Holmes can be found throughout the National Anthropological Archives in MS 7206, the records of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and the records of the Department of Anthropology.
label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: Manuscripts and notes by Holmes can be found throughout the National Anthropological Archives in MS 4698, MS 2125, MS 7112, and MS 7570.
label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: The William Henry Holmes Papers, 1870-1931 (SIA RU007084), are held by the Smithsonian Institution Archives.