Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- William E. Winter Maya Research Papers
- Dates:
- 1935-circa 1961
- Creators:
- Winter, William and Thompson, J. Eric S. (John Eric Sidney)
- Abstract:
- William Ernst Winter (1899-1966) was a San Jose businessman with a voracious interest in Maya culture and the Mayan calendar. Winter studied Maya archaeology from at least 1932 until 1961, and created an entire library of hand-drawn glyphs. This collection from 1935 until about 1961 contains all of Winter's research on Maya culture and archaeology, and includes notecards and paper slips with hand-drawn symbols in black and colored pencils, dictionary notes, calendrical and planetary calculations, and newspaper clippings.
- Containers:
- box: 1-3
- Extent:
- 2.5 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
William E. Winter Maya Research Papers, 1935-circa 1961, Brau Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.226; [folder number] [folder title][date].
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains the research material and notes made by William E. Winter relating to Mayan hieroglyphs and the Mayan calendar. Materials include notecards and paper slips with hand-drawn symbols in black and colored pencils, dictionary notes, calendrical and planetary calculations, newspaper clippings, four rolls of microfilm, and one piece of correspondence from Eric Thompson from 1959. Some files and binders are named Archaeology, Maya Dictionary, and Mayan Archaeology. The glyphs drawn on index cards are in the categories Affixes, Heads, Main Signs, and Whole Glyphs. The earliest dated object is a newspaper clipping from 1935, but majority of the collection is undated.
- Biographical / historical:
-
William Ernst Winter was born 1899 December 17 in Blue Rapids, Kansas. After high school, Winter attended United States Military Academy at West Point, followed by a year as a U. S. Army Second Lieutenant of Infantry at Camp Meade, Maryland. Winter resigned from the military in January 1924, moved to Wyoming, and then settled in Northern California by the end of the year. Winter attended Stanford University from 1925-1926 as a journalism student, then pursued work as a statistician in the Bay Area. He married Katherine Mary Steiner in 1932, and the two lived in San Jose until about 1961. Winter passed away in Palm Springs in October of 1966.
Although Winter was not an archaeology student, he always had an interest in history. Winter co-authored two historical review books in 1927 for the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co., where he was a statistician and rate engineer. Winter's interest in Maya glyphs and culture started at least in 1932, but possibly earlier. He amassed a collection of twenty books on Maya archaeology, which were also donated to the Braun Research Library in 1967. Winter corresponded with English archaeologist of Mesoamerica, Eric Thompson, who was working at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D. C. at the time. Winter's book collection and meticulously-executed notes were frequently used and given special consideration by scholars visiting the Southwest Museum's Braun Research Library.
- Acquisition information:
- Donation from Mrs. Katherine Winter, 1967 November 18.
- Processing information:
-
Physical processing completed by Anna Liza Posas, 2011. Finding aid completed by Holly Rose Larson, NHPRC Processing Archivist, 2012 August 31, made possible through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions (NHPRC). Microfilm addition made 2015 October 28 by Mallory Furnier.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-10-06 17:27:09 +0000 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
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.
- Terms of access:
-
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.
- Preferred citation:
-
William E. Winter Maya Research Papers, 1935-circa 1961, Brau Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.226; [folder number] [folder title][date].
- Location of this collection:
-
4700 Western Heritage WayLos Angeles, CA 90027, US
- Contact:
- (747) 201-8448