Robert Lemoyne Barrett papers
name: label: Creator
content: Barrett, Robert LeMoyne, 1871-1969
place: label: Place
content: Russia
label: Place
content: Morocco
label: Place
content: Ethiopia
label: Place
content: Canada -- Rocky Mountains
label: Place
content: Baja California (Mexico : Peninsula)
label: Place
content: Norway
label: Place
content: Southwest
label: Place
content: Siberia
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers of Robert LeMoyne Barrett were received by the National Anthropological Archives in 1976 as a donation of Mrs. Marjorie Childs, whose late husband, Herbert Childs, had intended to write a biography of Robert Barrett.
creator: label: Creator
content: Barrett, Robert LeMoyne, 1871-1969
culture: label: Culture
content: Ladaki
abstract: label: Summary
content: Barrett was a traveler, popular writer, and geographer. The material relates largely to his expeditions to Norway, Russia and Siberia (with Roland B. Dixon), Baja California, Inner Asia, Ethiopia, Morocco, the American Southwest, and the Canadian Rockies. Included is correspondence between Dixon and W. M. Davis and a manuscript by Ghulan Rasul Galwan, Barrett's Ladaki caravan leader.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: May 28, 1871 -- Born in Chicago, Illinois

1892 -- Made trip to Tangier, Morocco

1893 -- Visited British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies

1894-98 -- Bachelor of Arts degree, Harvard University

1897-98 -- Summers spent in Norway undertaking fieldwork

1900 -- Visited Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado

1901-1902 -- Traveled through Russia with Roland Dixon

1902 -- Became a charter member of the Association of American Geographers

1903-04 -- Roamed the American Southwest and Baja, California

1904-06 -- The Barrett-Huntington Expedition of Inner Asia

1909 -- Journeyed to Abyssinia

June 29, 1913 -- Married Katherine Ruth Ellis, an established writer

1913-14 -- Holland, German, the Tyrol--Italy

1917 -- Special expert on labor conditions for the U.S. Shipping Board in England, wrote British Industrial Experience During the War  

1923-24 -- Visited the Himalayas, Servant of Sahibs published

1926 -- Journeyed to El Teide on Tenerife in Canary Islands

1927 -- The Himalayan Letters of Gypsy Davy and Lady Ba

1926-27 -- Traveled to Patagonia

1931 -- A Yankee in Patagonia published

1932 -- Cloudtop Mosaics published

March 5, 1969 -- Died at La Crescenta, California
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 6.8 Linear feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1892-1909
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.XXXX.0149
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Collection is arranged into 6 series: (1) Letters of Robert LeMoyne Barrett, 1892-1909 (most written for publication); (2) manuscripts of writings and publications, 1890s-1920s; (3) materials relating to expeditions, 1897-1923; (4) note slips, 1903-1909; (5) miscellany, undated; (6) photographs, 1897-1906.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: These papers reflect the early life of Robert LeMoyne Barrett (b. 1871) geographer, traveler, and writer. Included are outgoing correspondence which for the most part was intended for publication, manuscripts on various topics, two published articles on Norway, field notes, sketches, charts, maps, noteslips, photographs and other items relating to his various trips from 1892-1909. The bulk of the material reflects the expeditions of Norway conducted in the summers of 1897-98, the Dixon-Barrett Russia-Siberia Expedition of 1901-02, the Baja Peninsula of 1903-04, the Barrett-Huntington Inner Asia Expedition of 1904-06, and Abyssinia in 1909. There is some material on a trip to Morocco in 1892, the Canadian Rockies in 1893, Colorado-Arizona-New Mexico in 1900. There is only a sketch book for a 1923 journey to the Himalayas. 

Also included are class lecture notes from his geography courses at Harvard, some material on Japanese writings, passports, the correspondence of Roland Dixon from Russia to W. M. Davis, and the manuscript of Ghulan Rasul Galwan of Leh, India, Barrett's Ladakhi caravan leader in 1905-06. There is little material that calls attention to his early childhood or later personal life. With one small exception, there is no material on his many journeys after 1909. There is no material on the professional and scientific organizations of which he belonged. There are no incoming letters or any manuscripts of books that were published. 

The photograph collection is large with early turn of the century prints and negatives of Norway, Europe, the American Southwest, Baja, California, and Inner Asia. Most of the photographs are of mountainous terrains and geographical features of the various locals of his journeys; however, there are a few pictures of Navajo Indians of the early 1900's and Asians of the same period. The bulk of the photograph collection concerns the Inner Asian Expedition which passed through India, Chinese Turkestan, and China and the many small villages en route with landscape views of the Himalayas predominating. Most of these were taken with a theodolite camera capable of  measuring altitude. 

A copy of a 1976 biographical sketch of Barrett's life entitled "Robert LeMoyne Barrett, 187101969; Last of the Founding Members of the Association of American Geographers," by Geoffrey J. Martin is also included which lists a bibliography of Barrett's publications. 

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.