Photographic Material, circa 1911-1953
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Access note. Series contains fragile materials in the form of negatives and glass lantern slides. Contact Research Services for access.
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- Scope and content:
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Series contains over 2000 photographic items in the form of gelatin silver photographs, safety negatives, digitized nitrate negatives, a few postcards, and glass lantern slides, primarily documenting Pearse's research travels abroad and within the United States from about 1911 to 1953. Locations with the most photographic images are Nigeria and the Yucatán Peninsula, with smaller numbers from the North Carolina coast, Colombia, India, Japan, China, the Philippines, and Venezuela. Images from the early years of the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C. are also present, along with some images of other marine labs. Also present are many prints and negatives of charts, maps, and other illustrations used in Pearse's texbooks.
Photographs of local flora, fauna, and ecosystems include: fish, crabs and other crustaceans, insects, and turtles; geological and ecological settings, particularly relating to freshwater and coastal zones; cenotes (large sinkholes and caves) in the Yucatán; and mixed zones of agriculture and tropical forest.
In addition to scientific research photographs, there are images, particularly those from Nigeria and the Yucatán, documenting local peoples, customs, and activities, with details relating to dress, religious customs, agricultural techniques, food gathering, and the built environment such as walled villages and temples.
Single items of interest include a signed photographic portrait of naturalist and Darwinist T.R.R. Stebbing, circa 1915, and a photograph of a group of men from the Association of American Universities taken by the Bayard Wooten-Moulton studio in Chapel Hill, N.C. sometime before 1954.
- Processing information:
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Original nitrate negatives were digitized and deaccessioned in May 2025. As a result, nitrate negatives only exist in digital form in this series.
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Access note. Collection contains fragile materials in the form of negatives and glass lantern slides. Contact Research Services for access.
Access restricted. 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.
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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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