William F. Foshag's papers, circa 1935-1949 : field notebooks (re: jades).

Abstract

This folder is part of the papers of William F. Foshag (1894-1956). He was a geologist who specialized in the study of the geology and mineralogy of Mexico. In 1919 he became Assistant Curator at the United States National Museum's Division of Mineralogy and Petrology. From 1929 to 1941 he served as Curator of the Division of Physical and Chemical Geology (Systematic and Applied), and from 1929 to 1948 was also Curator of the Division of Mineralogy and Petrology. From 1948 to 1956, Foshag was Head Curator of the Department of Geology and Acting Curator of the Division of Mineralogy and Petrology. Between 1926 and 1941, Foshag made several collecting trips to Mexico under the auspices of the Smithsonian's Roebling Fund. While serving as a representative of the United States Geological Survey in its cooperative work with the Mexican government, Foshag was able to study the eruption of the Paricutin Volcano in 1943. He made subsequent visits to Paricutin in 1944 and 1945 to observe the volcano. In 1949, Foshag was commissioned by the Guatemalan government to survey ancient jade objects from Central America. The present folder includes three notebooks on jade and jadeite. The notes are accompanied by drawings and rubbings of jade objects, as well as by small samples of jade that are taped on the notebooks. A notebook is dedicated to San Agustín Acasaguastlan jade, another to the Kaminaljuyu site in Guatemala,and the third one is titled "Rossback jades, Robles jades".

Date Range

1949

Start Date

1949

End Date

1949

Access Information

Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu.

Topic

• Metamorphic rocks
• Jade art objects--Central America
• Geology
• Kaminaljuyu Site (Guatemala) } lcsh
• Mineralogy
• Jade--Guatemala
• Jadeite (Petrology)

Place

• Central America
• Guatemala
• Acasaguastlan
• Kaminaljuyu } tgn

Form/Genre

• Fieldbook record
• Field notes

Accession #

SIA Acc. 91-144

Collection name

William F. Foshag papers, circa 1935-1949

Physical Description

1 field book

Physical Location

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Sublocation

Box 1, folder 58