Collection Overview
Pratt Museum of Natural History
Pratt Museum of Natural History. Records
1866-2000
11 archive boxes, 1 half archives box, 1 records storage box, 1 oversize flat file
(7 linear ft.)
English
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Amherst, MA
Reports, correspondence, clippings, photographs, field notebooks and catalogues related to the various natural history collections formerly held in the Pratt Museum, as well as expeditionary field work undertaken to develop those collections. Also includes some records of the Amherst College department of Geology.
Historical Note
The Pratt Museum of Natural History opened in the 1940s to house Amherst College's natural history collections after the renovation of the Pratt Gymnasium. (The gymnasium, built in 1883, had been named after its donor, Charles M. Pratt, AC 1879.) Until that time, most of the collections had been held in Webster Hall, and before that in various scientific "cabinets" in various locations on campus. The Pratt Museum's holdings, collected since the 1820s from around the world and comprising about 80,000 objects with historic as well as scientific importance, included vertebrate and invertebrate skeletons and fossils, the college's famous collection of dinosaur tracks (notable for being the world's largest), minerals, geologic phenomena, and anthropological artifacts. Most of the displays in the Pratt Museum were designed and constructed by Professor George Bain and his associates.
Many of the Pratt Museum's skeletons resulted from expeditions led by Professor Frederic Loomis (AC 1896), a vertebrate paleontologist. Loomis came to Amherst in 1899 and taught biology, comparative, mineralogy and geology. He took Amherst students on over 18 digs in the U.S. and South America. Loomis died at a dig in Alaska in 1937.
In 2006, the Pratt Museum moved with the department of Geology to a new building on the east slope of Barrett Hill.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
Reports, correspondence, clippings, photographs, field notebooks and catalogues related to the various natural history collections formerly held in the Pratt Museum, as well as expeditionary field work undertaken to develop those collections. Also includes some records of the Amherst College department of Geology.
Organization of the Collection
This collection is organized into five series:
-
[1. CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORTS](list-ser1)
-
[2. EXPEDITIONS](list-ser2)
-
[3. PHOTOGRAPHS](list-ser3)
-
[4. MATERIALS CONCERNING PRATT MUSEUM COLLECTION](list-ser4)
-
[5. NOTEBOOKS AND CATALOGUES](list-ser5)
In general, there is no restriction on access to the Pratt Museum Records for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.
Requests for permission to publish material from the Records should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyright.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
[Identification of item], in Pratt Museum of Natural History Records [Box #, Folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library.
Accession Nos. 79-087; 2003-269; 2004-030; 2004-057; 2010-010
Geology--Colorado.
Geology--Kansas.
Geology--Massachusetts.
Geology--Nebraska.
Geology--Patagonia (Argentina and Chile).
Geology--Study and teaching--Massachusetts--Amherst.
Geology--United States.
Geology--Wyoming.
Minerals--Collection and preservation--Massachusetts.
Diaries--Amherst College.
Lecture notes--Amherst College.
Notebooks--Amherst College.
Pratt Museum of Natural History.
Amherst College. Dept. of Geology.
Emerson, Benjamin Kendall, b. 1843.
Loomis, Frederic Brewster, b. 1873.
- Buildings and Grounds Collection
- Benjamin Kendall Emerson Papers ca. 1837-1928
- Frederic Brewster Loomis (AC 1896) Papers, 1901-1936
- Scrapbooks Collection: Scrapbook of an Expedition to Patagonia, 1911-1912
- Charles Upham Shepard (AC 1824) Papers, 1826-1881
Section 1: CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORTS
Section 1: CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORTS is arranged by subject and contains reports to the Board of Trustees by B.K. Emerson; letters from the Smithsonian Institution to B.K. Emerson; miscellaneous papers, correspondence, reports, and records of the Visiting Committee; reports, reading lists, examinations, and class notes from the Geology Department; newspaper clippings concerning the Geology Department; field notebooks; and articles.
1
1
Reports to the Board of Trustees by B.K. Emerson
1876-1907
1
2
Plans and needs for Geology Dept. by B.K. Emerson
n.d.
1
3
Letters from Smithsonian Institution to B.K. Emerson
1874
1
4
Edward Hitchcock (President) - bill for minerals
1857
1
5
Program of the Amherst meeting of the Geological Society of America
1921
1
6
Visiting committee - miscellaneous papers
1927-30
1
7
Visiting committee - correspondence and records
1928-29
1
8
Visiting committee - correspondence and report
1930
1
9
Visiting committee - correspondence and report
1931
1
10
Visiting committee - miscellaneous correspondence
1932-35
1
11
Visiting committee - miscellaneous correspondence
1947-48
1
12
Geology 1 - Field trip
1937-38
1
13
Geology 3 - Reading lists
n.d.
1
14
Geology 4 - Examination
n.d.
1
15
Geology 7 - Reading lists
n.d.
1
16
References for final thesis
n.d.
1
17
Comprehensive examination
1970
1
18
Newspaper clippings concerning Geology Department
n.d.
2
1
Letter to B.K. Emerson concerning mines
1894
2
2
Field notebooks (3) - lists of specimens collected; drawings of sections of mesozoic
n.d.
2
3
Notebooks (2) - lecture notes of J.W. Eggleston (AC 1898); field record of "Sawyer's Island first digging," a paleo-Indian site. Also includes other sites: White Island, Flagg Island, Seward's Island, Calf Island, Horse Island, N & S Harpswell, Winter Harbor
[c.1898?]
2
4
Das Kutschelied auf der Seelenwanderung, by Wilhelm Ehrenthal, Leipzig, pamphlet in German
1871
2
5
"The Geological Expedition" (expedition to Montana and Wyoming): pages from Amherst Graduate's Quarterly
1929 Nov
2
6
"The Geological and Mineralogical Collections of Amherst College," by B.K. Emerson: photocopies copies of a two-part article from Amherst Graduate's Quarterly
1915-1916
2
7
X-ref: tape recording of Geology conference at Amherst by Dr. Richard Foose -- original in Audio Visual Collection
1967 Oct
2
8
Contributions to the Geology of the Island of Tobago West, Indies, Vol II, Department of Geology, Amherst College (expedition led by Dr. Richard Foose)
1971 Mar
2
9
18 miscellaneous letters and documents received in 2004 and 2010 from Pratt Museum after move to new building (#2010-010). [See the following entries]
1850-1916
2
9
Letter, Talcott Williams (AC 1873, trustee 1909-1919, journalist) to [Tip?], found with Burgess Shale fossil specimens
1915 Sep 20
2
9
Letter, Nahum Gould to Edward Hitchcock, describing fossils and rocks Gould has sent from Illinois to Amherst. Eight specimens of Ordovician cephalopods in collection may have been sent in this shipment.
1870 Aug
2
9
Letter, Charles Schuchert (Yale Peabody curator) to B.K. Emerson, referencing Charles Francis Hall Arctic Expedition of 1865, ostracods, and "Triassic Unio."
1914 May 11
2
9
"Abstract from a letter written by Dr. R.S. Bassler to Prof. Schuchert June 9, 1914". Refers to Burgess Shale (? "Marella splendens described by Mr. Walcott") and ostracods. On verso, in pencil: "2 new species put in show collection BKE 1914".
1914
2
9
Letter, Ashton E. Hemphill (Holyoke, MA; may have been a member of American Orthnithologists Union) to B.K. Emerson, inquiring about a sample of fossil shells from Baalbek, Lebanon.
1914 Aug 19
2
9
Undated document (possibly portion of a letter), "American Agricultural Chemical Co." written in pencil at top of one side. Refers to shark teeth, fossil bones and shells.
2
9
Letter, Lloyd Bates (AC 1911) to B.K. Emerson, alerting him to a shipment of fossils he found. Letter found associated with specimen C.E. 129 (crinoid stems), which lists Bates as collector.
1914 Nov 24
2
9
Letter, Mignon Talbot (professor of Geology and Geography at Mount Holyoke College, 1904-1935; noted female paleontologist who found the only fossil of the dinosaur Podokesaurus holyokensis, a cast of which is held in Museum of Natural History), to B.K. Emerson; found in association with specimen T.A. 7.
1916 Jan 28
2
9
Document (possibly portion of letter), [Hanover?], New Hampshire. Refers to C. H. Hitchcock, Woods Cabinet, and specimens from Square Lake, Maine. Found in association with specimen D.A. 31 (may have been folded and used as label for this specimen).
1871 May 16
2
9
3-page document, the first two pages of which are a letter, H.T. Fernald (entomologist at Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station, Amherst, MA - now part of UMass, Amherst) to B.K. Emerson. In this letter Fernald attempts to characterize organisms in fossils that Emerson sent to him. Third page appears to be a portion of a letter from Rufus M. Bagg, Jr. (geologist or paleontologist? Possibly at University of Illinois) to B.K. Emerson, in which Bagg refers Emerson to other geologists for assistance. The document is unusual in that the last paragraph of the letter was cut from another piece of paper and was adhered onto the rest of the letter. There is also a handwritten note (which refers to Bagg and "egg capsules perhaps of a spider") at the bottom of the page signed "B.K.E, Nov (?) 1910."
1909 Jan 30
2
9
Letter, [J. Mansfield?] to Professor (Charles) Shepard, inquiring if Shepard wants to sell his house. Found in association with specimen O.A. 89.
1862 Jul 5
2
9
Letter, Benjamin L. Miller (Lehigh University, Dept. of Geology) to B.K. Emerson, regarding Cryptozoon proliferum. Found in association with specimen Cm.C. 2.
1903 Oct 6
2
9
Letter, Eben. (Ebenezer?) Moseley, [Newburyport, Mass.?] to Rev. Dr. Hitchcock, referring to "shells" and "bed of shells". Found in association with specimen Pl.L. 1.
1850 Mar 29
2
9
"List of the Minerals" that is likely part of a letter from B. Schneider to Rev. Dr. (Edward) Hitchcock. The document lists 13 items (rocks/shells) collected in Syria and surrounding areas. No. 2 reads "Are from the gates of Syria, close by the [road?] where Alexander & his army must have passed." Found in association with specimen M.L. 11.
n.d.
2
9
Letter, Robert Wells (AC 1912) to Professor Whipple, , describing fossil. Found in association with specimen K.L. 177A.
1914 Jan 14
2
9
Letter, J.M. Clarke (New York state geologist, New York State Museum, Albany) to B.K. Emerson, describing brachiopod fossils. Found in association with uncataloged brachiopods stored in museum drawer IP-120.
1891 May 14
2
9
Five-page document, the first page of which is a letter dated July 13 (no year) from Prof. Frederick Loomis to Dwight Blaney (avocational malacologist, painter, and subject of paintings by John Singer Sargent), describing Pleistocene shells found on their expedition to Mount Desert Island, Maine. The next three pages are a letter dated Sept. 19, 1915 from Blaney to Loomis with more about the shells, including a two-page listing of 24 specimens. The last page is a photocopy of the title page of a reprint of their article "A Pleistocene Locality on Mount Desert Island," published in Am. J. Sci. November 1916. Found in association with uncataloged fossils in museum drawer IP-525.
ca. 1915-1916
2
9
Ten pages of documents (some double-sided) that appear to be student papers or exams, many attempting to identify fossils. Found in association with uncataloged fossils in Pratt Museum drawer 5b-1.
n.d.
2
10
Letter: Wilson Blain, Willamette Falls, Oregon, to Prof. Edward Hitchcock, regarding rock samples; includes 2 photographs
1850 Jun 20
2
11
Charles H. Hitchcock - correspondence and publications
1906-1911
2
12
Joel [Lindsley?], Washington, DC, to John M. Tyler, regarding archaeology collection
1909
2
13
Rufus B. Tobey (AC 1877) to "Dear Professor"
1916 Jul 26
2
14
Correspondence between Julius W. Eggleston, Cuttingsville, Vt. and W.W. Robinette (Dona, Va.) regarding fossils
1928
2
15
Sargent Child (Ac 1924) - note regarding item(s) in the ethnology collection from Orinoco River
ca. 1930
2
16
H.H. Nininger, Nininger Laboratory (Denver, Colo.) to faculty in the Amherst College department of geology
1935-1941
12
10
Miscellaneous correspondence re: minerals
1876-1972
Section 2: EXPEDITIONS
Section 2: EXPEDITIONS contains correspondence, negatives, diaries, specimen lists, expense accounts and reports about various expeditions. This section is arranged by date and expedition.
3
1
Expedition to Patagonia - correspondence
1911-12
3
2
Expedition to Patagonia - books of negatives, Vol. 1 & 2
1911-12
3
3
Expedition to Patagonia - book of negatives, Vol. 3
1911-12
3
4
Expedition to Patagonia - two diaries compiled by F.B. Loomis (one diary contains class notes)
1911-12
3
5
Expedition to Patagonia - map
1911-12
3
6
Expedition to Patagonia - specimen list
1911-12
3
7
Expedition to Nebraska and Colorado - notebook containing expense account, specimen list, and station log of the Holyoke Range
1919
6
7
Expedition to Wyoming - "Indian Quarry and Shop Site, Converse County, Wyo." (1 exhibition panel with photographs)
1907-1908
4
1
Expedition to Colorado and Wyoming - notebook containing expense account, specimen list, compiled by F.B. Loomis
1920
4
2
Expedition to Wyoming - notebook containing expense account, specimen list, compiled by F.B. Loomis
1922
4
3
Expedition to Wyoming - report of expedition (printed), notebook containing specimen list, compiled by F.B. Loomis
1927
4
4
Expedition to Wyoming - report of expedition (printed - 45 copies)
1927
4
5
Expedition to Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota - notebook containing expense account, specimen list, compiled by F.B. Loomis
1929
4
6
Expedition to Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota - report of expedition (printed - 45 copies), notebook containing expense account, specimen list, compiled by F.B. Loomis
1931
4
7
Expedition to [unknown] - notebook containing expense account, specimen list, compiled by F.B. Loomis
1934
4
7a
Edwin Hastings (AC 1938) field notes from expedition to Texas
1939-2003
Section 3: PHOTOGRAPHS
Section 3: PHOTOGRAPHS contains photographs of expeditions, postcards with pictures of specimens and sites of expeditions, pictures of skeletons, family pictures [possibly Loomis family], and negatives. Materials are arranged by subject.
4
8
Loomis expedition to Melbourne, Florida
n.d.
4
9
Miscellaneous pictures [Patagonia?]
n.d.
5
1
Miscellaneous pictures [expedition?]
n.d.
5
2
Postcards with pictures of specimens and sites of expeditions
n.d.
5
3
Miscellaneous pictures [Scott's Bluff, Nebraska?]
n.d.
5
4
Skeletons of mammals, including Canis dirus, Ursus spelaeus and others
n.d.
5
5-6
Miscellaneous pictures - skeletons
n.d.
5
7
Skeletons showing the growth of the horse in the last six million years
n.d.
5
8
Photographs and drawings of horse skeletons
n.d.
5
9
Seneca Mastodon
n.d.
6
1
Family pictures [possibly Loomis family?]
n.d.
6
2
Negatives (unidentified)
n.d.
12
1
Meteorites
n.d.
12
6
Exhibition photographs
n.d.
12
11
Fossil and living vertebrates (glass plates) and unidentified exhibition photographs (glass plate negatives)
n.d.
12
12
Portrait of paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope
ca. 1880
Section 4: MATERIALS CONCERNING PRATT MUSEUM COLLECTION
Section 4: MATERIALS CONCERNING PRATT MUSEUM COLLECTION includes correspondence, articles, newspaper clippings, photographs, list of Liberian curios from O.F. Cook, catalogues and exhibit announcements, pictures, and drawings of species. Material is arranged by subject.
12
7
History of the Pratt Museum (TS fragment, pp. 1-2 missing)
n.d.
6
3
Correspondence concerning collections
n.d.
6
3A
Correspondence from Edward Hitchcock (AC 1849) to Horatio N. Rust, re: Indian relics and fossil bones (19 letters, photocopies; originals at Huntington Library, NO PHOTOCOPYING)
1866-1881
6
4
"Dr. Hitchcock and the Amherst Indian Collection" by F.B. Loomis, reprint from Amherst Graduate's Quarterly
1915 Jun
See Also:
Catalogue of New England Indian Relics in the Gilbert Museum at Amherst College and Specimens of New England Indian Relics in the Gilbert Museum at Amherst College
6
5
Newspaper clippings concerning Gilbert Collection of Indian Relics
n.d.
6
6
Gilbert Collection of Indian Relics - list of specimens, Vol. 1, 2 & 3
n.d.
6
7
Specimens of New England Indian Relics in the Gilbert Museum at Amherst College (3 copies)
1903
6
8
Catalogue of New England Indian Relics in the Gilbert Museum at Amherst College, 2nd ed. (2 copies)
1904
6
9
Indian Relics Collection - "Explorations of the Baum Pre-historic Village Site" by William C. Mills, reprint from the Ohio Archeological and Historical Qtly, Vol XV, No. 1
1906
6
9A
American Indian Art - exhibition announcement (2 catalogues)
1974
6
10
Photographs of Indian Relics; Dighton Rock information
n.d.
6
11
List of Liberian curios from O.F. Cook
n.d.
6
12
Art of the Sepik River - catalogue and exhibit announcement
1974
7
1-1a
Correspondence concerning meteorites
1872-1912
12
2
Meteorites
ca. 1880-1972
12
3
Publications on meteorites
1837-1903
12
4-5
Catalogues and other printed matter on the meteorite collections of C.U. Shepard at Amherst College
1851-1965
7
2
Meteorite Collection of Charles Upham Shepard - photographs and catalogue
n.d.
7
3
Correspondence concerning minerals
n.d.
7
4
Manuscript catalogue of mineralogical cabinet and various lists of specimens
1866 Jun
7
5
"The Geological and Mineralogical Collections of Amherst College" - mineralogical collection correspondence, catalogue and manuscript of article by B.K. Emerson
n.d.
7
6
Kunz Collection and Spang Collection, minerals - correspondence
n.d.
7
7
Fire and Shepard mineral collection, minerals - correspondence
n.d.
7
8
Fossil Footprints Collection - catalogue, photographs, newspaper clippings
n.d.
7
9
Natural History Collection - newspaper clippings, photographs
n.d.
7
10
"Notice of Collections in Natural History Preserved in the Shepard Cabinet at Amherst College" by Charles Upham Shepard (4 copies)
n.d.
7
11
Adams Shell Collection - history of specimens and shells
n.d.
7
12
"Development of the Amherst College Mineral Collection" by Carl A. Francis
n.d.
7
13
"The History of the Edward B. Underhill Collection..."
2000
8
1
Pictures and drawings - Agriochoeridae
n.d.
8
2
Drawings - Sheep and goats
n.d.
8
3
Drawings - Leptauchenia decora
n.d.
8
4
Drawings - Limnenetes
n.d.
8
5
Drawings - Backs of skulls
n.d.
8
6
Drawings - Pronomotherium
n.d.
8
7
Drawings - Merycochoerus
n.d.
8
8
Drawings - Oreodonts
n.d.
8
9
Drawings - Mesoreodon, Merycoides
n.d.
8
10
Drawings - Merychyus
n.d.
8
11
Charts - Oreodonts
n.d.
8
12
Drawings - Promeyachoerus
n.d.
8
13
"A Study in the Variation in Oligocene Oreodons" drawings, typed manuscript by Boardman Bump
[c.1930]
8
14
Drawings - Deer
n.d.
8
15
Drawings - Licholeptus
n.d.
8
16
Drawings - Eporeodon, Eucrotaphus, Bathygenus
n.d.
8
17
Drawings - Bovidae
n.d.
8
18
Drawings - Gazelles
n.d.
8
19
Drawings - Phenacucodus
n.d.
8
20
Drawings - Mastodon dentition
n.d.
8A
1
Drawings - Miscellaneous
n.d.
8A
2
Miscellaneous notes
n.d.
8A
3
Listing of slides numbered 1 through 1212
n.d.
12
8
Lists of mineral, fossil, and paleontological specimens
1863-1905 and n.d.
12
9
Fossil sketches and plant specimen
n.d.
Section 5: NOTEBOOKS AND CATALOGUES
Section 5: NOTEBOOKS AND CATALOGUES contains catalogues of various collections, and miscellaneous field notebooks.
9
1
"Catalogue of Professor Hovey's Shells" by C.B. Adams
n.d.
9
2
Catalogue of shells in Appleton Cabinet (2 vols.)
1877
9
3
List of specimens of shells (3 vols.)
n.d.
9
4
Catalogue of sponges and anthozoa by Professor J.M. Tyler
1882
9
5
"Catalogue of Amherst College Zoological Collections" by Edward Hitchcock and Edward Hitchcock, Jr. (AC 1849)
1874
10
1
"Catalogue of Rocks of the United States"
n.d.
10
2
Catalogue of alabasters, marbles, pophyries, etc. in the Wood Cabinet obtained by Professor Hovey
n.d.
10
3
"Catalogue of Simple Minerals" by Edward Hitchcock, Jr. (AC 1849)
n.d.
10
4
"Catalogue of American Geological Cabinet" by [B.K. Emerson?]
1862
10
5
"Catalogue of Rocks and Fossils from New England" [by Edward Hitchcock?]
n.d.
10
6
Miscellaneous notebooks on minerals (3)
n.d.
10
7
"Descriptive Catalogue of the Fossil Footmarks in the Ichnological Cabinet of Amherst College," Books 1 & 2 by Edward Hitchcock, Jr. (AC 1849). Also includes footprint catalogue data added by B. K. Emerson (1913)
1865-1913
10
8
"Catalogue of the fossil footmarks collected and arranged by Edward Hitchcock in the new cabinet of Amherst College"
1848
11
1
"Catalogue of North American Plants in Amherst College Herbarium"; "Catalogue of the Flora Americana in Herbarium Amherst"
n.d.
11
2
"Catalogue of the German Collection" - insects
n.d.
11
3
Insects of Great Britain
n.d.
11
4
"Insects of New England, Etc. in My Cabinet" and "Genera of Coleopterous Insects in the Cabinet of Amherst College" by C.B. Adams
n.d.
11
5
"Father's Geology Collection [by Edward Hitchcock, Jr. (AC 1849)?] - photocopy of notebook
n.d.
11
6
Handwritten catalogue of rocks and minerals chiefly from Asia and sent by America Missionaries
n.d.
11
7
Catalogue of meteorites at Amherst College
n.d.
12
13
"Notes on the microscopes belonging to the college" by B.K. Emerson
1876
12
14
"Catalogue of the Economic Collection from Germany - 500 Specimens"
1840
12
15
"Catalogue of the Museum sized Cabinet of Minerals"
1887
12
16
"Blue labels" (catalog of mineral specimens)
n.d.
12
17
"Yellow labels"
n.d.
12
18
"Appendix to 2nd [illegible] collection in Drawer" by C.U. Shepard
1882
12
19
Notebook of C.U. Shepard
1867
12
20
Minerals listing
n.d.
12
21
"Specimens on Rutili" by C.U. Shepard
n.d.
12
22
Notebook kept by Harold Ladd Smith (AC 1909) of geology field trips
1909
12
23
Field notebooks of J.W. Eggleston (AC 1898)
ca. 1905-1909
12
24
Geology notebook of A.F. Conant, Cambridge, Mass.
1905
12
25
Partial map of Argentina
n.d.
12
26
Field notebook (Belchertown, Mass.) of W.S. Allen (AC 1900)
ca. 1900
12
27
C. W. Fearing (AC 1875): Catalogue of the Mineral Cabinet. One leather-bound notebook. Unknown whether it describes Fearing's own mineral collection, and if so whether it was later donated to Amherst College (and probably destroyed in fire); or the Amherst College mineral collection (though its numbers do not correspond to numbers in current mineral collection database) [#2011-068]
ca. 1875