MS 2372 Garrick Mallery Collection on Sign Language and Pictography
name: label: Creator
content: Mallery, Garrick, 1831-1894
place: label: Place
content: Oceania
topic: label: Topic
content: Language and languages -- Documentation
label: Topic
content: Sign language
label: Topic
content: Picture-writing
label: Topic
content: Ethnology
label: Topic
content: Anthropology
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: MS 2372 was transferred from the Bureau of Ethnology Archives to the Smithsonian Office of Anthropology Archives with the merger of the BAE and the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History in 1965. The Smithsonian Office of Anthropology Archives was renamed the National Anthropological Archives in 1968.
creator: label: Creator
content: Mallery, Garrick, 1831-1894
culture: label: Culture
content: Arctic peoples
label: Culture
content: Indians of North America
physloc: label: Note
content: Some materials, especially in series 3, are stored in the NAA artwork collection.
setName: label: See more items in
content: MS 2372 Garrick Mallery Collection on Sign Language and Pictography
abstract: label: Summary
content: Garrick Mallery (1831-1894) was an ethnologist with the Bureau of American Ethnology who focused primarily on Native American sign language and pictography. This collection reflects Mallery's research interests and methods. Much of the collection is comprised of correspondence and notes relating to sign language and pictography and is organized chiefly by either the cultural or geographic region to which the material belongs. Bound volumes of several of his publications are included, along with annotated draft copies from collaborators. In the case of Mallery's work on pictography, the collection includes several oversize items including original works and reproductions.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Garrick Mallery (1831-1894) was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and practiced law in Philadelphia from 1853 until the outbreak of the American Civil War. While serving in the army, he became interested in Native American sign language and pictography, perhaps while performing his duties in frontier areas. After retiring from the military in 1879, Mallery was appointed to the newly created Bureau of American Ethnology as one of its first ethnologists. In his work with the Bureau, Mallery pioneered the study of sign language and pictographs, examining them as a universal human phenomenon with a direct link to spoken language. 

In his work, Mallery collected and examined sign language vocabulary from Native American groups throughout the U.S. and Canada and regularly solicited contributions from collaborators. He also related his findings to examples from the wider world, comparing the formation of Native American signs to those in other areas by hearing individuals and by the deaf. Mallery completed several publications on the topic throughout the 1880s, notably Introduction to the Study of Sign language Among the North American Indians (1880), A Collection of Gesture- Signs and Signals of the North American Indians (1880), and  "Sign-language among North American Indians Compared with that Among other People and Deaf-mutes," which appeared in the BAE 1st Annual Report (1881). 

While most widely known for his work with sign language, Mallery also undertook extensive research into Native American pictography. Like his work with sign language, he both conducted original research and solicited assistance from collaborators. He was especially interested in the representational images in Dakota winter counts and petroglyphs in the United States and throughout the world.

Sources Consulted

Fletcher, Robert. "Garrick Mallery, President of the Philosophical Society of Washington, in 1888." In Brief Memoirs of Colonel Garrick Mallery, U.S.A., Who Died October 24, 1894, 3-8. Washington: Judd & Detweiler, 1895.

Fletcher, Robert. "Colonel Garrick Mallery, U.S.A." American Anthropologist 8, no. 2 (1895): 79-80.

Chronology

1831 -- Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on April 25

1850 -- Graduates Yale College

1853 -- Earns LL. B. from the University of Pennsylvania Admitted to the Pennsylvania bar

1853-1861 -- Practices law in Philadelphia

1861 -- Enters the volunteer army of the United States

1862 -- Severely wounded in the battle of Peach Orchard, Virginia Captured and held prisoner at Libby prison in Richmond, Virginia

1866 -- Completes service with volunteer army of the United States Accepts commission in regular army of the United States

1870 -- Marries Helen W. Wyckoff

1879 -- Retires from the United States army due to disability Appointed to the Bureau of American Ethnology

1880 -- Publishes Introduction to the Study of Sign-Language Among the North American Indians as Illustrating the Gesture-Speech of Mankind and A Collection of Gesture-Signs and Signals of the North American Indians With Some Comparisons

1881 -- Publishes "Sign Language Among North American Indians, Compared with that Among Other Peoples and Deaf-Mutes"

1894 -- Dies after a short illness in Washington, D.C., on October 24
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 41.29 Linear feet (22 boxes, 29 folders, 3 mounted drawings, and 3 rolled items)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1849-1902
label: Date
content: bulk 1870-1895
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.MS2372
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pictographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged into 3 series: 1) Research Notes, undated; 2) Materials on Sign Language, 1843-1849, 1873-1894; 3) Materials on Pictographs and Petroglyphs, 1849-1902, undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Information in this finding aid was pulled from an existing folder list which reflects the titles written on individual folders in the collection.

The folder titles of this collection were written by the creator of the collection, Garrick Mallery. Some of these folder titles include offensive or outdated language. The original titles have been retained to preserve the historical integrity of the archival record. Use of this language does not reflect the views of the National Anthropological Archives or the Smithsonian Institution.

Processed by NAA Staff.

Encoded by Patricia Greeene, 2015.
bibliography: label: Selected Bibliography
content: 1877. "A Calendar of the Dakota Nation." Department of the Interior United States Geological and Geographical Survey, F.V. Hayden, U.S. Geologist-in-Charge.  -- Bulletin of the Survey --  3, no. 1 (1877): 4-25.

1877. "A Calendar of the Dakota Nation." Department of the Interior United States Geological and Geographical Survey, F.V. Hayden, U.S. Geologist-in-Charge.  -- Bulletin of the Survey --  3 (1), 4-25. Washington, 1877.

1878. "The Former and Present Number of Our Indians." In  -- Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Twenty-Sixth meeting, Held at Nashville, Tennessee, August, 1877 -- , 340-366. Salem: The Salem Press, 1878.

1880.  -- Introduction to the Study of Sign-Language Among the North American Indians as Illustrating the Gesture-Speech of Mankind -- . Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880.

1880. "The Sign Language of the North American Indians."  -- American Annals of the Deaf --  25, no. 1 (1880): 1-20.

1880.  -- A Collection of Gesture-Signs and Signals of the North American Indians With Some Comparisons -- . Vol. 1,  -- Smithsonian Miscellaneous Publications -- . Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880.

1881. "Sign Language Among North American Indians, Compared with that Among Other Peoples and Deaf-Mutes." In  -- Bureau of American Ethnology 1st Annual Report (1879-1880) -- , edited by J. W. Powell, 263-552. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1881.

1881. "The Gesture Speech of Man."  -- Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 30th Meeting, Held at Cincinnati, Ohio, August, 1881 -- , 283-313. Salem: The Salem Press, 1882. Reprinted in  -- Aboriginal Sign Languages of the Americas and Australia -- , edited by D.J. Umiker-Sebeok and T.A. Sebeok. Vol. 1, 407-37. New York: Plenum, 1978.

1886. "Pictographs of the North American Indian: A Preliminary Paper." In  --  Bureau of American Ethnology 4th Annual Report (1882-1883) -- , 2-256. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1886.

1891.  -- Greeting By Gesture -- . New York: Appleton, 1891.

1893. "Picture-Writing of the American Indians." In  --  Bureau of American Ethnology 10th Annual Report (1888-1889) -- , 3-822. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1893.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Pictographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This collection contains Garrick Mallery's research and writings as a BAE ethnologist and is largely comprised of correspondence and preparatory materials for publications on Native American sign language and pictography. The geographic scope of the material is chiefly the present-day United States and Canada, though other areas of the world are represented less comprehensively. Correspondence and research notes include verbal descriptions of signs, sometimes with illustrations included. Bound volumes of Mallery's publications are included, along with annotations from collaborators. In addition, this collection includes notecards, drawings, illustrations, photographs, articles, and art objects. Art objects (mostly oversize) deal chiefly with Dakota winter counts and other artifacts.

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.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: See MS 2322 A collection of gesture-signs and signals of the North American Indians for more of Garrick Mallery's work on sign language.