Amherst College Archives and Special Collections. All rights reserved.
© 2002 Amherst College. All rights reserved.
The Gilbert Museum of Indian Relics refers to a collection of bone, stone and pottery implements believed to have been created and used by Native Americans in the New England region. In 1853, Professor Edward Hitchcock, Jr. (AC 1849) presented his collection of 721 specimens of Connecticut Valley Indian relics to Amherst College. In 1857 it was increased to 1,100 specimens. This collection formed the foundation of the Gilbert Museum of Indian Relics, named for George Henry Gilbert (1806-1869) of Ware, Massachusetts, a generous benefactor of the College. Hitchcock continued to curate the museum together with two other scientific collections in the Appleton Cabinet (later known as Appleton Hall), the Hitchcock Ichnological Cabinet and the Adams Zoological Museum. In 1903 the collection numbered nearly 3,000 specimens.
The specimens in the collection are still held by Amherst College; however, the collection is closed to research pending review under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
Catalog records describing specimens of Native American relics in the Gilbert Museum of Indian Relics at Amherst College, including the original collection of Dr. Edward Hitchcock (AC 1849) and later additions from other sources, including the collection of D. S. Kellogg. Supplementary materials include two printed catalogs of the museum, 1903-1904.
This collection is organized into three series:
There is no restriction on access to the Gilbert Museum Papers for research use. Particularly fragile items are restricted for preservation purposes.
Requests for permission to publish material from the Papers should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
[Identification of item], in Catalogue of the Gilbert Museum of Indian Relics [Box #, folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library
Pratt Museum Papers
Edward and Mary Judson Hitchcock Papers
Frederic Brewster Loomis (AC 1896) Papers
In volume 1, Dr. Edward Hitchcock, AC 1849, explains that "the design of this catalogue is to perpetuate some knowledge of the specimens in the collection in case of any accident resulting from fire, breakage, theft or otherwise." He further explains that for accuracy, the diagrams in the volumes are traced, rather than drawn.
The catalogue begins with Dr. Hitchcock's own collection. It includes accession records of collections added later, with their cost and the source of funding in most cases. The Kellogg collection, consisting of about 15,000 relics, is included in Volume IV. "I.C.P.," who catalogued entries Z-1 through Z-44 has been identified as Irvin Chaffee Plough, AC 1942.
Kept with the catalogue since it relates directly to a major part of the Amherst collection.
The printed Catalog, which appeared in 1903 and again in 1904, is a short one with photographs of some of the items on display at the Gilbert Museum, as well as narrative about the museum.