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Contributing Institution:
Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Alanson Skinner Papers
Creator:
Skinner, Alanson
Creator:
Harrington, M. R. (Mark Raymond)
Creator:
Parker, Arthur Caswell
Creator:
Oneroad, Amos E. (Amos Enos)
Creator:
Heye, George G. (George Gustav)
Creator:
Satterlee, John Valentine
Creator:
Grinnell, George Bird
Creator:
Harris, William
Identifier/Call Number: MS.201
Physical Description:
3 Linear Feet
(6 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1890-1926
Abstract: This collection includes manuscripts, research and field notes, poems, artwork, correspondence, ephemera, scrapbooks, and
personal papers of Alanson B. Skinner.
Language of Material:
English
.
Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit
https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is
given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Alanson Skinner Papers, 1890-1926, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.201; [folder number] [folder
title][date].
Gift of M. R. (Mark Raymond) Harrington, 1950.
This archive includes material collected and created by Skinner, as well as material about Alanson B. Skinner.
The bulk of the archive includes biographical materials, personal materials, financial materials, manuscripts written and
collected by Skinner, Skinner's obituary written by M. R. Harrington, lecture announcements, correspondence, research and
field notes, scrapbooks, drawings, and other ephemera. Also included is an undated certificate of a degree of Doctor of Hebrew
Literature from the Seminarii Theologici Judaico-Americani.
Alanson B. Skinner: Eastern Indians photo albums, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los
Angeles; A.63 & A.64.
Alanson Skinner Papers, 1921-1924, Museum Library, Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI.
Alanson Buck Skinner Photograph Collection, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Cultural
Resources Center, Suitland, Maryland, MRC-541.
Mark Raymond Harrington Collection, 1930-1961, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.214.
Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records, 1890-1998, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American
Indian Archives, Suitland, Maryland, NMAI.MC.001.
Photographs by Alanson Skinner: Canada – Ojbway, 1908-1909, American Museum of Natural History Research Library, New York.
Alanson Buck Skinner was born on 1886 September 7 in Buffalo, New York. He became interested in archaeology, specifically
related to Native Americans, at a very young age and started publishing notes on his findings before he was 18 years old.
Through the American Museum of Natural History, Skinner accompanied Arthur C. Parker and M. R. (Mark Raymond) Harrington on
his first fieldwork expedition near Shinnecock Hills, Long Island. As a result of this expedition, Skinner was published for
the first time, and it was the start of a lifelong friendship between Harrington and Skinner.
In addition to expeditions with the likes of Harrington, F. W. Putnam, George H. Pepper, and W. T. Davis, Skinner also attended
Columbia University and Harvard University. Skinner was Assistant Curator of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural
History from 1907-1915, Assistant Curator and then Curator of Anthropology at the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee from
1920-1922, and staff member of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation from 1915-1920 and again from 1922-1925.
Skinner was prolific in his writings and was published widely in the areas of archaeology and ethnology. He was also noted
for his admiration and sympathy for Native Americans and became so involved with the Menomini that they adopted him. Skinner
was also involved in professional associations, and was a Mason and a Shriner.
Skinner was on an expedition with Wahpeton informant, Amos Oneroad, when they had a car accident that took Skinner's life
on 1925 August 17.
Initial processing and finding aid completed by Jim Hofer in 1987. Completion of processing and finding aid performed by Holly
Rose Larson, Project Archivist, funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
in 2011.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Correspondence
Costa Rica
Folklore
Indians of North America -- Fiction
Indians of North America -- California
Indians of North America
Indians of North America -- Great Plains
Fiction
Costa Rica -- Antiquities
Manuscripts
Field notes
Financial records
Art, American
Poetry
Reviews
Arctic peoples
Drawings
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Indians of North America -- Folklore
Publications
Indians of North America -- Oregon
Obituaries
Catalogs
Skinner, Alanson