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Raphael Pumpelly Papers: Finding Aid
mssPumpelly papers
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Title: Raphael Pumpelly Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1839-1916
Collection Number: mssPumpelly papers
Creator:
Pumpelly, Raphael,
1837-1923.
Extent:
Approximately 3,500 pieces in 15 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection chiefly consists of correspondence and some papers related to the lives and family affairs of American geologist
and explorer
Raphael Pumpelly (1837-1923) and his wife, Eliza Shepard Pumpelly (died 1915).
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Raphael Pumpelly Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Gift of Raphael Pumpelly (grandson of the geologist), January 28, 1960.
Raphael Pumpelly (1837-1923), American geologist and explorer, studied at the Royal School
of Mines in Freiberg. He accepted a post in 1861 as a geologist for the Japanese government,
and served two years in that position before traveling on through China, Mongolia, and
Russia. He returned to the U.S. to study iron and copper deposits in Michigan and the Lake
Superior district and from 1884-89 served as head of the New England division of the U.S.
Geological Survey. In 1903 and 1904 he led expeditions to Turkestan under the auspices of
the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Pumpelly's wife, Eliza Frances Shephard Pumpelly,
whom he had married in 1869, died in 1915, eight years before he died in Newport, Rhode
Island in 1923.
This collection consists chiefly of letters, with some documents and manuscripts (including
29 volumes of notebooks and diaries) related to the lives and family affairs of Raphael and
Eliza Pumpelly. The collection includes a few professional papers of Raphael Pumpelly, along
with geological notes and descriptions of people and expeditions in Japan, China, Mongolia,
Russia, Turkestan, and various places in the United States. Among the papers related to
Eliza Shepard Pumpelly, there are descriptions of travel in Europe and Asia and also of the
expeditions to Turkestan in 1903 and 1904. The collection also contains a few business and
personal letters of Raphael Pumpelly's parents, William Pumpelly and Mary Wells Pumpelly, and their
family.
Arrangement
Arranged in the following order:
Part I
- Raphael Pumpelly Passports and Notebooks (Box 1, Pt. I)
- Eliza Shepard Pumpelly Diaries (Box 2, Pt. I)
Part I
- William and Mary Welles Pumpelly Papers (Box 1, pt. II)
- Raphael and Eliza Shepard Pumpelly Papers (Box 2, pt. II)
- Eliza Shepard Pumpelly Papers (including family correspondence) (Boxes 3-13)
- Miscellany (Box 13)
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Pumpelly, Eliza Shephard,
-1915.
Pumpelly, Raphael,
1837-1923.
Geologists -- United States --
Archives.
Geology -- Asia, Central.
Geology -- China.
Geology -- Japan.
Geology -- Mongolia.
Geology -- Russia.
Geology -- United States.
Mines and mineral resources --
Michigan.
Scientific expeditions -- Asia,
Central.
Scientific expeditions -- China.
Scientific expeditions -- Japan.
Scientific expeditions -- Mongolia.
Scientific expeditions -- Russia.
Asia -- Description and
travel.
Europe -- Description and
travel.
Diaries.
Family papers United States.
Letters (correspondence) United
States.
Notebooks United States.
Professional papers United States.
Pumpelly, Eliza Shephard, -1915.