Arthur Sperry Pearse papers, 1904-1960

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Access note. Collection contains fragile materials in the form of negatives and glass lantern slides. Contact Research Services for access. Nitrate film is scheduled for digitization. Many of the...
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Summary

Creator:
Pearse, A. S. (Arthur Sperry), 1877-1956
Abstract:
Arthur Sperry Pearse (pronounced like "purse") was Professor of Zoology at Duke University from 1927 until his retirement in 1948; he played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Marine Biology Laboratory in Beaufort, North Carolina, and served as the lab's first director from 1938 until 1945. Collection comprises professional papers and photographs documenting A. S. Pearse's career as a zoologist. Formats include correspondence, writings and lectures, lab notes and data, fieldwork notes, teaching materials, clippings and printed materials, and over 2000 photographs, glass slides, and negatives. The images document Pearse's research travels, particularly in Nigeria and the Yucatán, but also in Alabama, Florida, coastal North Carolina, Japan, China, Burma, the Phillippines, Colombia, and Venezuela, chiefly during the period 1915-1935. Images are of local flora, fauna, landscapes, villages, dwellings, local crafts and industries, indigenous peoples, and other scientists.There are also early photographs of the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C. Also found are many publication illustrations such as maps and charts. Prominent subjects throughout the collection include the establishment of and research projects at the Duke Marine Lab; the promotion of forestry as a scientific discipline at Duke; Pearse's role as editor of the publication Ecological Monographs; and his research interests in marine biology, ecology, crustaceans, parasitology, microbiology, biological adaptation, and forestry.
Extent:
18 Linear Feet (16 boxes)
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
UA.29.02.0012
University Archives Record Group:
29 -- Papers of Faculty, Staff, and Associates
29 -- Papers of Faculty, Staff, and Associates > 02 -- Individuals

Background

Scope and content:

Collection comprises professional papers and photographs documenting A. S. Pearse's scholarly career as a zoologist at Duke University. Formats include correspondence, writings and lectures, lab notes and data, fieldwork notes, teaching materials, clippings and printed materials, and over 2000 photographs, negatives, and glass lecture slides.

Prominent subjects throughout the collection include the establishment of and research projects at the Duke University Marine Laboratory, the promotion of forestry as a scientific discipline at Duke, Pearse's role as editor of the journal Ecological Monographs, and his research interests: marine biology, ecology, crustaceans, parasitology and parasitic diseases, microbiology, biological adaptation, and forestry.

There are many photographic images in the form of prints, nitrate and safety negatives, and glass plate lecture slides, all documenting Pearse's research travels, particularly in Nigeria and the Yucatán, but also in Alabama, Florida, coastal North Carolina, Japan, China, Burma, the Phillippines, Colombia, and Venezuela, chiefly during the period 1915-1935. Images include local flora, fauna, landscapes, villages, dwellings, local crafts and industries, and indigenous peoples. Also present are other scientists in the laboratory and in the field, as well as early images of the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C. and other marine labs, and images of the N.C. coast and people such as fishermen. Finally, there are many images of maps, charts, tables, and drawings used in Pearse's lectures and publications. The nitrate negatives are slated for digitization.

Correspondence primarily reflects his role as editor of Ecological Monographs. Other prominent topics include Pearse's involvement with professional organizations, symposia and conferences, his own publications, research in Nigeria and the Yucatán, and the founding and early operations of the Duke University Marine Laboratory at Beaufort, North Carolina. Also, in 1938-1939, there is a series of correspondence between Pearse and President William Preston Few concerning lack of support for and conditions within the department and Pearse's consequent resignation as departmental chair.

Other materials include research notes, tables, and sketches; laboratory and field notebooks containing research notes and statistics from Nigeria, the Yucatan, Wisconsin, and various other research locations; graduate student correspondence and dissertation abstracts; and manuscripts of various publications authored by Pearse including Animal Ecology and his 1952 autobiography, Adventure: Trying to be an Ecologist.

Biographical / historical:

Arthur Sperry Pearse (pronounced like "purse") was born 15 March 1877, on the Pawnee Indian Reservation near Crete, Nebraska, where his parents ran a trading post. In 1898, Pearse left the University of Nebraska with the 4th Nebraska Volunteer Infantry in the Spanish-American War, returning to receive his B.A. in 1900 and his M.A. in 1904. He went on to complete his doctoral work at Harvard where he received his Ph.D. in 1908. Also, in 1942, Pearse received an honorary LL.D. from the University of Nebraska.

Pearse taught courses at Harvard, the University of Michigan (1908-1910), the University of the Philippines (1911), St. Louis University School of Medicine (1911-1912), the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1912-1927), and, finally, as Professor of Zoology at Duke University (1927-1948). In 1926, Pearse spent five months at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and one year as a visiting professor at Keio University in Japan (1929-1930). Pearse was an instrumental participant in the creation of the Duke University Marine Laboratory at Beaufort, N.C., in 1938 and served as the lab's first director until 1945. He was also founder and editor of Ecological Monographs (1930-1950), a publication of Duke University Press.

In addition to work within the academy, Pearse was also a special investigator for the United States Bureau of Fisheries, a special member of field staff for the International Health Board, and a special investigator for the Carnegie Institute. Also a member of many scientific societies, he served as president of the Ecology Society of America (1925), American Society of Zoologists (1945), and North Carolina Academy of Science (1951), and as vice president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1936).

During his career Pearse authored about 175 publications on a variety of research interests in the fields of marine zoology and ecology, microbiology, forestry, and parisitology including fresh-water fauna, beach and estuarine animals, the fauna of soil and forest environments, parasitic marine crustacea, and biological adaptation. Titles include General Zoology (1917), The Migration of Animals from Sea to Land (1936), Fauna of the Caves of the Yucatan (1938), and Animal Ecology (1939). He also published a collection of essays, Hell's Bells (1941), and an autobiography, Adventure: Trying to be a Zoologist (1952).

Pearse's research travels - documented by his own photographs - took him to the Nigeria, the Philippines, Japan, Yucatan, Venezuela and numerous locations throughout the United States including Alabama, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Maine, Florida, Texas, and coastal North Carolina.

Acquisition information:
The Arthur Sperry Pearse Papers were received by the University Archives as a transfer between 1954-1973.
Processing information:

Processed by Josh Larkin Rowley, April 2009.

Encoded by Josh Larkin Rowley, April 2009

Photographic Materials series, access restrictions notes, and subjects updated and enhanced by Paula Jeannet, February 2019 and January 2023.

Accessions described in this collection guide: UA48-1843, UA48-2038, UA48-2122, UA60-218, UA62-541, UA73-51.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

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Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Access note. Collection contains fragile materials in the form of negatives and glass lantern slides. Contact Research Services for access. Nitrate film is scheduled for digitization. Many of the negative images are available in the form of prints.

In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Duke University permits students to inspect their education records and limits the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records.

Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Arthur Sperry Pearse Papers, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1vt4t