Lessa (William A.) papers, 1943-1985

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Title:: William Armand Lessa papers
Dates:: 1943-1985
Creators:: Lessa, William Armand.
Abstract:: William Armand Lessa (1908-1997) was assigned to the postwar allied administration of Italy as a military government official administering towns and other population units. In 1947, he joined the UCLA Anthropology Department. He investigated comparative religion, myth and ritual, while doing field work in Oceania, China and Hawaii. The collection consists of papers relating to the postwar allied administration of Italy. Includes notes for and a copy of Lessa's book, Spearhead governatore: remembrances of the campaign in Italy (1985).
Extent:: 9 boxes (4.5 linear ft.)
Language:: Finding aid is written in English. and Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:: [Identification of item], William Armand Lessa papers (Collection 1499). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Scope and content:: Collection consists of papers relating to the postwar allied administration of Italy, in particular to Lessa's assignments in Italy as a military government official administering towns and other population units. Includes notes for and a copy of Lessa's book, Spearhead governatore: remembrances of the campaign in Italy (1985). Also contains documents, maps, memorabilia, publications, notes and accounts contributed by others, and postwar correspondence.
Biographical / historical:: Lessa was born in 1908; he received his Ph.D from the University of Chicago; joined the UCLA Anthropology Department in 1947; investigated comparative religion, myth and ritual, while doing field work in Oceania, China and Hawaii; books include An appraisal of constitutional typologies (1943), The ethnography of Ulithi Atoll (1950), and More tales from Ulithi Atoll: a content analysis (1980); Lessa retired in 1970; he died on October 14, 1997 in Los Angeles.
Acquisition information:: Gift of William A. Lessa, 1986.
Physical location:: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.
Rules or conventions:: Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Collection Guide Author:: Processed by Hilda Bohem, February 1981, October 1995; additions processed by Lilace Hatayama, March 2013; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
Date Prepared:: © 2005
Date Encoded:: Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML file imported into the Archivists' Toolkit, encoding added via Archivists' Toolkit, Notetab Pro, and Oxygen. Date of source: March 2013 . Supplementary encoding and revision by Caroline Cubé.

Access and use

Restrictions:: Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.
Terms of access:: Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:: [Identification of item], William Armand Lessa papers (Collection 1499). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Location of this collection:: UCLA, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library

A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library

Box 951575

Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US