Archives Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
00.00 |
Title |
Founder records |
Date |
1898-1903 |
Collection size |
13 folders |
Creator |
Peabody, Robert S. (Robert Singleton), 1837- |
Other Creators |
Moorehead, Warren King, 1866-1939 |
Administrative/Biographical History |
Phillips Academy's Department of Archaeology (Robert S. Peabody Foundation for Archaeology; Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology) was founded and endowed in 1901 by Robert S. Peabody (1837-1904). Peabody had discussed the idea of the museum with archaeologist Warren K. Moorehead, who had acquired artifact collections for Peabody in the 1890s, and would become the department's first curator. Peabody's vision for the department, as related by Moorehead, was twofold: to foster an interest in archaeology and American Indians among the boys at his alma mater and to provide social spaces for the academy's students. The general objective of the department was the curation of some 38,000 artifacts that Peabody had collected. Equally important, the new department building was to serve as a meeting place where students and interested citizens could discover the emerging field of archaeology. |
Scope & Content |
These records consist of correspondence between Warren Moorehead and Robert S. Peabody that discuss the initial plans for the Phillips Academy Department of Archaeology, such as its purpose and expenses, as well as Moorehead's acquisition of artifacts for Peabody, some or all of which were part of the museum's founding collections. The letters give a glimpse into Moorehead's acquiring practices, and include correspondence from individuals employed by him to dig for artifacts. Additional correspondents include Charles Peabody. |
Conditions Governing Access |
This collection is open for research. |
Language of Material |
English |