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Finding Aids to Official Records of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Record Unit 381

National Museum of History and Technology. Division of Historic Archeology

Records, circa 1952-1978

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:National Museum of History and Technology. Division of Historic Archeology
Title:Records
Dates:circa 1952-1978
Quantity:9.58 cu. ft. (9 record storage boxes) (1 tall document box)
Collection:Record Unit 381
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

This record unit includes correspondence and memoranda between Peterson and curators of the Department of Armed Forces History, the Bertrand Committee, the Caribbean Research Institute, the Explorers Research Corporation, and various professional organizations and individuals participating in the Underwater Exploration Project.

Records also include Bertrand Committee reports and blueprints for the raising of the steamboat Bertrand in 1969; photographs and illustrations of underwater shipwreck sites, artifacts, and preservation methods; photographs of engineer and inventor Waldemar A. Ayres, experimenting with oxygenating plastic membrane panels in the waters off Long Island Sound; original manuscripts and bibliographical information for the publication "History Under the Sea: A Handbook for Underwater Exploration"; subject files concerning preservation of artifacts and use of electrolytic reduction on metallic objects; information on cannon markings and their identification; budgetary records; and proposals for the Hall of Underwater Exploration, National Museum of History and Technology.

Historical Note

Specialization within the field of underwater historic archeology was established by Mendel L. Peterson, who served as Head Curator of the Division of Military and Naval History, United States National Museum, 1948-1957; Head Curator and Chairman of the Department of Armed Forces History, National Museum of History and Technology (NMHT), 1958-1968; and Curator of the Division of Historic Archeology, NMHT, 1969-1973.

Peterson began taking an interest in underwater historic archeology in 1952, and thereafter conducted extensive research as well as headed expeditions to underwater shipwreck sites in the Florida Straits, Bahamas, and West Indies. Grants from the Explorers Research Company and National Geographic Society enabled Peterson to engineer his Proton Processing Magnetometer, an electronic searching device used for locating underwater artifacts and tested in the waters of Bermuda. When the Division of Historic Archeology was organized in 1969, emphasis on underwater historic archeology had more focus. Peterson supervised the Division's Underwater Exploration Project which, until his retirement in 1973, involved further exploration of the Caribbean and thorough research of previously discovered underwater sites.

In 1965 Peterson published History Under the Sea: A Handbook for Underwater Exploration, which remains a standard reference source on surveying underwater archeological sites and on laboratory techniques for preserving artifacts from underwater excavations.

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Descriptive Entry

Records include correspondence and memoranda between Peterson and George R. Wallace, President and Treasurer of the Explorers Research Corporation; Bertrand Committee; Caribbean Research Institute; professional contacts participating in the Underwater Exploration Project; individuals interested in the History Under the Sea: A Handbook for Underwater Exploration handbook and underwater exploration; and staff of the Department of Armed Forces History.

This collection also includes Bertrand Committee reports and blueprints for the raising of the steamboat Bertrand in 1969; photographs of Peterson, alongside explorer Waldemar A. Ayres, experimenting with the Proton Processing Magnetometer; additional photographs and illustrations of underwater shipwreck sites, artifacts, and preservation methods; original manuscripts and bibliographical information for the publication History Under the Sea: A Handbook for Underwater Exploration; subject files concerning preservation of artifacts and use of electrolytic reduction on metallic objects; information pertaining to cannon markings and their identification; budgetary records; and proposals for the Hall of Underwater Exploration, NMHT.

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 381, National Museum of History and Technology. Division of Historic Archeology, Records

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Container List

Box 1

A, General

Box 1 of 10

Albright, Arthur A.

Box 1 of 10

Arundel, Arthur

Box 1 of 10

B, General

Box 1 of 10

Bartelt, Calvin

Box 1 of 10

Beeyley, William M.

Box 1 of 10

Bonet, Carlos

Box 1 of 10

Bullis, Harvey

Box 1 of 10

Blaisdell, W. C.

Box 1 of 10

Burgess, Robert H.

Box 1 of 10

Burton, Curtis A.

Box 1 of 10

Ben-Eli, A.

Box 1 of 10

Bertrand Advisory Committee

Box 1 of 10

Bracamontes A., Jesus

Box 1 of 10

C, General

Box 1 of 10

Cayford, John E.

Box 1 of 10

Campbell, Robert

Box 1 of 10

Campbell, John

Box 1 of 10

Clearwater Federal Savings and Loan Association

Box 1 of 10

Crooke, C. F.

Box 1 of 10

D, General

Box 1 of 10

Dudley, John C.

Box 1 of 10

E, General

Box 1 of 10

Emery, John V.

Box 1 of 10

F, General

Box 1 of 10

Faure, Mrs. Gill

Box 1 of 10

Feder, F. Paul

Box 1 of 10

Fernandez, Guardia

Box 1 of 10

Franklin, Margaret

Box 1 of 10

Frick, Henry Clay, II

Box 1 of 10

Faulds, Delmar V.

Box 1 of 10

Miscellaneous Correspondence

Box 1 of 10

G, General

Box 1 of 10

Garret, John

Box 1 of 10

Geddes, Donald

Box 1 of 10

Gimbel, Peter

Box 1 of 10

Gerstle, Ralph

Box 1 of 10

Geller, Roman F.

Box 1 of 10

Goggin, John M.

Box 1 of 10

H, General

Box 1 of 10

Hagglund, L. F.

Box 1 of 10

Hazlett, James C.

Box 1 of 10

Humphry, H. W.

Box 1 of 10

Hudson, George I.

Box 1 of 10

Huston, John

Box 1 of 10

Hunter, William D.

Box 1 of 10

Hagen, John W.

Box 1 of 10

Hume, I. Noel

Box 1 of 10

Hunt, Donald

Box 1 of 10

I, General

Box 1 of 10

Ingham, Travis

Box 1 of 10

J, General

Box 1 of 10

Johnson, Robert

Box 1 of 10

K, General

Box 1 of 10

Klein, Marvin "Bob"

Box 1 of 10

Kivett, Marvin F.

Box 1 of 10

L, General

Box 1 of 10

Lankford, F. R.

Box 1 of 10

Lewis, B. R.

Box 1 of 10

Luther, F. G.

Box 1 of 10

Latham, Henry

Box 1 of 10

M, General

Box 1 of 10

Mc, General

Box 1 of 10

Murchison, A. E.

Box 1 of 10

McKeown, John F.

Box 1 of 10

MacBean, J. I.

Box 1 of 10

N, General

Box 1 of 10

Noguera L., Edgardo

Box 1 of 10

Noyes, John and Charles

Box 1 of 10

Naish, S. Gordon

Box 1 of 10

Nixon, Paul K.

Box 1 of 10

O, General

Box 1 of 10

P, General

Box 1 of 10

Piccard, Jacques

Box 1 of 10

Pease, Carl

Box 1 of 10

Pfeiffer, J. E.

Box 1 of 10

Peroni, George

Box 1 of 10

Q, General

Box 1 of 10

R, General

Box 1 of 10

Box 2

Rennie, Robert G.

Box 2 of 10

Rich, Edward N.

Box 2 of 10

S, General

Box 2 of 10

Sayre, William

Box 2 of 10

Schmey, Peter

Box 2 of 10

Schmit, F. P.

Box 2 of 10

Shaefer, Robert

Box 2 of 10

Stark, Jack

Box 2 of 10

Shinn, Eugene

Box 2 of 10

Slocum, Jermain

Box 2 of 10

Stout, Wesley W.

Box 2 of 10

Shaheen, John M.

Box 2 of 10

Smith, Richard T.

Box 2 of 10

T, General

Box 2 of 10

Taylor, Robert R.

Box 2 of 10

True, David O.

Box 2 of 10

Tishler, Leland G.

Box 2 of 10

Thompson, William

Box 2 of 10

U, General

Box 2 of 10

V, General

Box 2 of 10

W, General

Box 2 of 10

Wolper, Ruth

Box 2 of 10

Walsh, Donald

Box 2 of 10

Wright, Dr.

Box 2 of 10

Wolfe, N. E.

Box 2 of 10

Ware, Phillip

Box 2 of 10

Weller

Box 2 of 10

Winer, Richard A.

Box 2 of 10

XYZ, General

Box 2 of 10

Zint, Eugene J.

Box 2 of 10

Correspondence, 1959, 1963-1976 (17 folders)

Box 2 of 10

Bertrand Committee, 1969-1970 (2 folders)

Box 2 of 10

Correspondence, A-Bn (3 folders)

Box 2 of 10

Box 3

Correspondence, Bo-M (17 folders)

Box 3 of 10

Box 4

Correspondence, M-N (3 folders)

Box 4 of 10

Correspondence, National Geographic Society

Box 4 of 10

Correspondence, O-T (8 folders)

Box 4 of 10

Correspondence, True, David O.

Box 4 of 10

Correspondence U-XYZ (4 folders)

Box 4 of 10

Plan of Operations, 1969

Box 4 of 10

Budget, FY 1956

Box 4 of 10

Plan of Operation, FY 1957

Box 4 of 10

Box 5

Budget, FY 1957

Box 5 of 10

Budget, FY 1958 (2 folders)

Box 5 of 10

Outside Requisitions, 1957-1965 (2 folders)

Box 5 of 10

Annual Report, 1968

Box 5 of 10

Annual Report, FY 1969

Box 5 of 10

Budget Projections, 1971

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea: A Handbook for Underwater Exploration - Handbook: Study Materials and Guides - Checklist for sites furnishing material for illustration in underwater handbook

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Introduction (2 folders)

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter I - The History of Diving (3 folders)

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter I - The History of Diving: Illustrations

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter I - The History of Diving: DESCO (Diving Equipment & Supply Co., Inc.)

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter I - The Art of Living Under Water

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter II - The Development of Underwater Exploration (3 folders)

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter II - Port Royal Expeditions, 1956, 1959, 1960

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter II - "Port Royal, City Under the Sea," by Marion Clyton Link, 1959

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter II - Plates

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter III - The Location of Underwater Sites

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter IV - Search Techniques

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter V - Underwater Surveying: Magnetometers

Box 5 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter V - Search Methods

Box 5 of 10

Box 6

History Under the Sea - Chapter V - Surveying and Measuring Under Water

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter V - Underwater Photography

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter V - Measuring Under Water (VII)

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter V - Drawing Under Water

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter V - Preliminary Surveys of Sites

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VI - Condition of Underwater Sites

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VI - Worms

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VII - Recovery Techniques

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VII - Salvage

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VII - Excavation

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VII - Systematic Digging and Recovery Techniques

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VIII - Preservation: Preservation of Objects

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VIII - Preservation: Field Preparation

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VIII - The Preservation of Materials Recovered from Water: Consolidation of Fragile Objects

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VIII - The Preservation of Materials Recovered from Water: General

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VIII - The Preservation of Materials Recovered from Water: Plastic Embedding

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VIII - The Preservation of Materials Recovered from Water: Wood Preservation

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VIII - Glass

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VIII - Brick

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VIII - Wood

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - Electrolytic Reduction

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - Casting Reproductions

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - Ceramics Preservation

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - Glass Preservation

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - Plastic Embedding

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - Metal Preservation

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - Stone and Minerals

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - Stone Condition and Preservation

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - Wood Preservation and Preservation of Organic Materials

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - X Ray

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - Field Preparation

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Preservation: Notes

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Preservation: Metals

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter IX - The Identification of Wreck Sites: General

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter IX - Identification: General

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter XI - Small Arms and Armor

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Muller on Naval Guns

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter XI - Heavy Guns and Projectiles

Box 6 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter XI - Identification: Small Arms, Illustrations

Box 6 of 10

Box 7

History Under the Sea - Cannon (3 folders)

Box 7 of 10

History Under the Sea - Cannon Marks

Box 7 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter VII - The Guns (3 folders)

Box 7 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter XI - Identification: Cannon, Illustrations (3 folders)

Box 7 of 10

History Under the Sea - Hulls

Box 7 of 10

History Under the Sea - Anchors

Box 7 of 10

History Under the Sea - Bells

Box 7 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter XII - Hulls and Fittings

Box 7 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter XIV - Identification: Utensils, Objects of Personal Use, and Miscellaneous (2 folders)

Box 7 of 10

Box 8

History Under the Sea - Chapter XII - Identification: Ships, Hulls and Fittings (3 folders)

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter XV - Identification: Ceramics

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter XIV - Objects of Personal Use

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Navigating Instruments

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter XV - Ceramics and Glass

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Glass (14)

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Photographs - Trade Goods

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Identification (19) - Goods/Cargo/Ships Stores

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter XVI - Treasure

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Forgeries

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Forgeries of Treasure

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Chapter XVI - Identification: Treasure (2 folders)

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Assaying

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Identification (20) - Documentary Evidence

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Appraising

Box 8 of 10

History Under the Sea - Laws

Box 8 of 10

Box 9

History Under the Sea - Appendix II - Lists of Cargo and Equipment

Box 9 of 10

History Under the Sea - Naval Vessels, U.S.

Box 9 of 10

History Under the Sea - Appendix III - Lists of Manufacturers of Underwater Equipment

Box 9 of 10

History Under the Sea - Appendix - Weights and Measurements

Box 9 of 10

History Under the Sea - Hazards

Box 9 of 10

Association of Underwater Archaeology

Box 9 of 10

Caribbean Research Institute

Box 9 of 10

CEDAM (Conservation, Exploration, Diving, Archeology, Museums) International

Box 9 of 10

Exhibit Guidelines

Box 9 of 10

Explorers Research Corporation

Box 9 of 10

Society for Historical Archaeology

Box 9 of 10

School of Nautical Archaeology Plymouth (SNAP), England

Box 9 of 10

Training and Research Organizations

Box 9 of 10

Smithsonian Project - Historical Archaeology

Box 9 of 10

"Will Man Breathe Like Fish?" - Waldemar A. Ayres Project

Box 9 of 10

Buckles from Shipwrecks

Box 9 of 10

Manuscripts and Notes - Ordnance Materials from L'Herminie (1838)

Box 9 of 10

Philadelphia Maritime Museum

Box 9 of 10

Underwater Cartoons, etc.

Box 9 of 10

Underwater Hall, Additional Units

Box 9 of 10

Underwater Hall, Miscellaneous Papers

Box 9 of 10

Fur Trade Sites in North American Streams

Box 9 of 10

Ayres, Waldemar A.

Box 9 of 10

Mediterranean and the Far East

Box 9 of 10

Deep Diving Watch

Box 9 of 10

Sixteenth Century Sword and Musket

Box 9 of 10

Vailati, Bruno

Box 9 of 10

George Wallace - Bermuda Project, 1967 (2 folders)

Box 9 of 10

Bermuda Expedition

Box 9 of 10

Miscellaneous Publications

Box 9 of 10

National Association for Marine Archaeology

Box 9 of 10

Explorers Research Corporation Grant, 1967

Box 9 of 10

Correspondence, 1957-1961

Box 9 of 10

Florida Project, 1968

Box 9 of 10

Hall of Underwater Exploration - Unit 21

Box 9 of 10

Underwater Materials (2 folders)

Box 9 of 10

History Under the Sea, 3rd Edition - Notes

Box 9 of 10

Ansel Gibbs Project

Box 9 of 10

Highborn Guns

Box 9 of 10

Ordnance Projectiles

Box 9 of 10

Underwater Swimming, Bulletin No. 1, May 1957

Box 9 of 10

Box 10

Correspondence (2 folders)

Box 10 of 10

Bibliography - Underwater Exploration

Box 10 of 10

Bibliographies

Box 10 of 10

A Progress Report: Deep Submersibles, National Oceanographic Data Center, March 1965

Box 10 of 10

Photographs and Notes

Box 10 of 10

Photographs

Box 10 of 10