Reference Request
Finding Aids to Personal Papers and Special Collections in the Smithsonian Institution Archives
Record Unit 7133
Smithsonian Institution
United States National Museum Bulletin 50 Collection, circa 1894-1950
Historical Note
The first volume of Robert Ridgway's (1850-1929) great work, The Birds of North and Middle America appeared in 1901 as Part I of United States National Museum Bulletin 50. Part VIII, the last volume to appear during Ridgway's lifetime was published in 1919. After Ridgway's death, his colleague in the Division of Birds, United States National Museum, Charles Wallace Richmond (1868 1932), gathered all of the notes that he had left behind and filed them for future use. Herbert Friedmann (1900 ?) was appointed Curator of the Division of Birds in 1929, and in 1933 he began working with Ridgway's notes in an effort to complete the project. Part IX of The Birds of North and Middle America was finally published in 1941, Part X in 1946, and Part XI in 1950, After about 1950 Friedmann stopped working on the project, and devoted his time to his own research.
Descriptive Entry
This collection contains notes, drafts, and unpublished manuscripts for the projected, but never published, Parts XII and XIII of United States National Museum Bulletin 50: The Birds of North and Middle America. Included are notes of both Ridgway and Friedmann.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.
Name
- Ridgway, Robert, 1850-1929
- Friedmann, Herbert, 1900-1987
- Richmond, Charles Wallace, 1868-1932
- United States National Museum
- United States National Museum. Division of Birds
Subject
Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7133, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum Bulletin 50 Collection