Frans Blom Papers, Circa 1890-1942 (Bulk 1919-1942)
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8nk3gr2 No online items Finding Aid to the Frans Blom papers, circa 1890-1942 (bulk 1919-1942) Processed by The Bancroft Library staff The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu © 2013 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Finding Aid to the Frans Blom BANC MSS Z-R 8 1 papers, circa 1890-1942 (bulk 1919-1942) Finding Aid to the Frans Blom Papers, circa 1890-1942 (bulk 1919-1942) Collection number: BANC MSS Z-R 8 The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Contact Information: The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu Processed by: Lara Michels © 2013 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Collection Summary Collection Title: Frans Blom Papers, Date (inclusive): circa 1890-1942 Date (bulk): (bulk 1919-1942) Collection Number: BANC MSS Z-R 8 Creator: Blom, Frans Extent: Number of containers: 11 cartons, 12 oversize boxes, 6 negative boxes, 5 cardfile boxes, 5 oversize folders, 1 box, 1 volume (linear feet: 24) Repository: The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California 94720-6000 Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog. Abstract: Personal and professional papers of Tulane University archaeologist Frans Blom, founder of the Middle American Research Institute and authority on Mayan archaeology. Languages Represented: English, Danish, Spanish. Access Collection is open for research with the exception of the NITRATE NEGATIVES IN NEGATIVE BOXES 1-6 AND VOLUME 1, WHICH ARE CLOSED TO RESEARCH DUE TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESTRICTIONS. Publication Rights All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See: Finding Aid to the Frans Blom BANC MSS Z-R 8 2 papers, circa 1890-1942 (bulk 1919-1942) http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html. Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html . Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Frans Blom papers, BANC MSS Z-R 8, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Alternate Forms Available There are no alternate forms of this collection. Indexing Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog. Blom, Frans Ferdinand, 1893-1963--Archives Blom, Frans Ferdinand, 1893-1963--Diaries Blom, Frans Ferdinand, 1893-1963--Correspondence Blom, Frans Ferdinand, 1893-1963--Portraits Alférez, Enrique, 1901-1999--Drawings Spratling, William, 1900-1967--Drawings Ninas, Paul, 1903-1964--Drawings Gonzalez, Xavier, 1898-1993--Drawings Tulane University. Middle American Research Institute John Geddings Gray Memorial Expedition (1928) John Geddings Gray Memorial Expedition (1928)--Photographs Indians of Central America--Research Indians of Central America--Photographs Indians of Central America--Study and teaching Indians of Mexico--Research Indians of Mexico--Photographs Indians of Mexico--Study and teaching Archaeology--Research ǂz Central America Archaeology--Research ǂz Mexico Archaeology--Central America--Photographs Archaeology--Mexico--Photographs Olmecs--Research--Central America Olmecs--Research--Mexico Mayas--Research--Central America Mayas--Research--Mexico Maya--Antiquities Corridos--Mexico--Oaxaca (State) Archaeologists--Denmark Petroleum industry and trade--Mexico--Minatitlán (Veracruz-Llave) Artists--Louisiana--New Orleans. Navies--Denmark--Photographs. Pueblo Bonito Site (N.M.)--Photographs Veracruz-Llave (Mexico : State)--Photographs Finding Aid to the Frans Blom BANC MSS Z-R 8 3 papers, circa 1890-1942 (bulk 1919-1942) Chiapas (Mexico)--Photographs Palenque Site (Mexico)--Photographs Uxmal Site (Mexico)--Photographs Guatemala--Photographs Honduras--Photographs Field notes Diaries Clippings Maps Manuscripts for publication Film negatives Photographs Accruals No additions are expected. Processing Information Processed by Lara Michels in November 2013. Biographical Information Frans Blom (1893-1963) was a Danish-born archaeologist and explorer and head of Tulane University's Middle American Research Institute (formerly the Department of Middle American Research) from 1926 to 1940. Having dropped out of the University of Copenhagen, Blom first arrived in Mexico in 1919 and, after some effort, managed to find work scouting abandoned oil wells in the Mexican oil industry (mostly in Minatitlán, Veracruz). During these years, Blom travelled extensively throughout remote areas of Veracruz, Chiapas, and Tabasco, documenting in his journals (in Danish) a developing passion for Mayan archaeology (a version of these journals was published in Danish in 1923). In 1922, Blom found work with the Dirección de Antropología in Mexico City. He spent the end of 1922 and 1923 exploring and documenting the state of the ruins in Palenque. These experiences led to admission to the Master's program in archaeology at Harvard University (which he completed in 1924). During his training, Blom worked in Uaxactun in the Petén area of Guatemala and participated in the excavations of Pueblo Bonito in New Mexico. Soon after completing his Master's, Blom took a position at the Department of Middle American Research at Tulane University. In 1926, Blom became director of the department. The department undertook expeditions throughout the last half of the 1920s and the 1930s, including the John Geddings Gray Memorial Expedition to Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala and the 1930 expedition to Uxmal in preparation for building a replica of the Uxmal Nunnery at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. While in New Orleans, Blom forged connections to local bohemians and artists such as Enrique Alférez and William P. Spratling. At the age of thirty nine, Blom married Mary S. Thomas, a woman he met in 1932 while hosting an excursion to Mexico. Mary Thomas was the daughter and heir to Lillian Sefton Thomas and Vincent B. Thomas, presidents of the Harriet Hubbard Ayer cosmetics corporation. This marriage ended in 1938. Blom struggled professionally and personally (with alcoholism) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. He left Tulane in 1941 and moved to Mexico around 1942. There he married Swiss photographer Gertrude “Trudi” Duby (1901-1993), who had also recently moved to Mexico and had a passion for the Lacandón Indians of Chiapas. In 1950, the couple purchased a house in San Cristobal, Chiapas, which they named Casa Na Bolom (House of the Jaguar). During the next thirteen years, Frans and Trudi worked to make their house into a center for scholars researching Chiapas and Guatemala. Trudi carried on with this venture in the years after Frans Blom's death in 1963. Today, Casa Na Bolom is a museum, hotel, and restaurant. Scope and Content of Collection The collection mostly documents Frans Blom's life and archaeological career from 1919, when he arrived in Mexico for the first time, to 1942, when he left Tulane University and made Mexico his permanent home. The collection is arranged into series: 1. Middle American Research Institute administrative documents and photographs; 2. Biographical and personal papers and photographs; 3. Correspondence; 4. Expeditions and travels; 5. Writings and research; 6. Writings by others; 7. Transcriptions; 8. Printed materials; 9. Notes and sketches; and 10. Appointment books and miscellany. See content notes for each series for further details. Finding Aid to the Frans Blom BANC MSS Z-R 8 4 papers, circa 1890-1942 (bulk 1919-1942) Series 1: Middle American Research Institute administrative documents and photographs. circa 1924-1... Series 1: Middle American Research Institute administrative documents and photographs. circa 1924-1940 Physical Description: Carton 1, folder 1-2; carton 8, folder 19-20; oversize box 7 Contents of Series Correspondence with Tulane University administration, materials regarding collections and exhibitions, and building and institutional plans. Carton 8, folders 19-20 contain photographs