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Finding Aids to Official Records of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Record Unit 258

National Museum of History and Technology. Division of Cultural History

Records, 1952-1967 and undated

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:National Museum of History and Technology. Division of Cultural History
Title:Records
Dates:1952-1967 and undated
Quantity:0.5 cu. ft. (1 document box)
Collection:Record Unit 258
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

These records consist of the administrative files of the Division of Cultural History as well as records from the Division of Ethnology relating to cultural history activities. Included are annual reports of these divisions; budget estimates and plans of operations of the Division of Cultural History, including estimates and plans for the Division before it underwent an administrative reorganization in 1969; newspaper clippings concerning an exhibit on life in early America; research progress reports of curators and research associates; correspondence relating to lists of objects borrowed by the United States Department of Agriculture for an exhibit in Hamburg, Germany; and related materials.

Historical Note

Prior to the creation of the Division of Cultural History in 1957, the cultural history collections were the curatorial responsibility of the Division of Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology. With the establishment of the Museum of History and Technology (MHT) in 1957, the Division of Cultural History became part of the newly formed Department of Civil History in the Museum. Musical instruments, which formed part of the collections of the Division of Cultural History, became a separate division in 1967.

C. Malcolm Watkins, who joined the Smithsonian as an Associate Curator of Ethnology in 1948, was appointed Curator of Cultural History in 1957. Other curators of the cultural history collections included G. Carroll Lindsay, Assistant Curator, 1956-1957, and Associate Curator, 1958; Rodris C. Roth, Assistant Curator, 1957-1959, and Associate Curator, 1960-1967; John D. Shortridge, Associate Curator, 1959-1960; John N. Pearce, Assistant Curator, 1960-1963, and Associate Curator, 1964; Cynthia A. Hoover, Assistant Curator, 1961-1963, and Associate Curator, 1964-1966; Anthony N. Hathaway, Junior Curator, 1961, and Assistant Curator, 1962-1963; Howard Mayer Brown, Associate Curator, 1965; Richard E. Ahlborn, Associate Curator, 1966-1967, and John T. Fesperman, Jr., Concert Director, 1966.

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Descriptive Entry

These records consist of the administrative files of the Division of Cultural History as well as records from the Division of Ethnology relating to cultural history activities. Included are annual reports of these divisions; budget estimates and plans of operations of the Division of Cultural History, including estimates and plans for the Division before it underwent an administrative reorganization in 1969; newspaper clippings concerning an exhibit on life in early America; research progress reports of curators and research associates; correspondence relating to and lists of objects borrowed by the United States Department of Agriculture for an exhibit in Hamburg, Germany; and related materials.

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 258, National Museum of History and Technology. Division of Cultural History, Records

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Container List

Series 1

ANNUAL REPORTS, 1957-1967.

Box 1

Folders 1-11 Annual Report, FY 1957-FY 1967.

Box 1 of 1

Series 2

BUDGET ESTIMATES AND PLANS OF OPERATIONS, 1956-1967 AND UNDATED.

Box 1

Folders 12-22 Budget Estimates for FY 1958-FY 1968.

Box 1 of 1

Folders 23-34 Plan of Operations for FY 1958-FY 1969.

Box 1 of 1
NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS, RESEARCH REPORTS, AND RELATED MATERIALS, 1952-1966 AND UNDATED.

Box 1

Folder 35 Hamburg Exposition, 1961.

Box 1 of 1

Folder 36 MHT: Invitation List, January 22, 1964.

Box 1 of 1

Folder 37 MHT: Invitation List, February 8, 1964.

Box 1 of 1

Folder 38 MHT: Moving, 1961-1963.

Box 1 of 1

Folder 39 Newspaper Clippings: "Everyday Life in Early America" (Hall 26), 1956-1960 and undated.

Box 1 of 1

Folder 40 Research Projects, 1952-1966. Includes lists of anticipated publications and progress reports of curators' and research associates' research projects.

Box 1 of 1

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