Dalton Dorr (1846-1901) was elected secretary of the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, now known as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in 1880. In 1887, the title of curator was added to his duties that later culminated in the directorship of the museum in 1892. He administered these three tasks until 1899. Dorr enjoyed traveling. The "Notes of travel made from memoranda in old diaries" (B D735) is a hand-written account of recollections of his excursions. Written in the winter of 1897-1898, the journal presents details of "A Pleasure cruise in Greenland" in the summer of 1869 with marine painter William Bradford, Massachusetts photographers John Dunmore and George Critcherson, and arctic explorer and physician Dr. Isaac I. Hayes. Dr. Hayes' published work, The Land of Desolation (1872), gives a full description of the Panther's voyage north along the island's west coast. From March 1872 to April 1873, Dorr explored "The Indian territory, Colorado and the Pacific Coast" including the Mojave reservation, Fort Yuma, Arizona City, San Diego and San Francisco. Other places noted include trips to Paris (1873), England, Scotland, and Ireland (1882-1884), and a Continental trip (1885). Referenced in the journal, "Under the midnight sun" (919.8 D73u) is the companion bound folio of albumen prints by Bradford, Dunmore and Critcherson of Greenland. The 92 photographs, with hand-written captions, reflect arctic landscapes, native houses, Norse ruins, glaciers, icebergs, bears, and Inuits. The picturesque representations have scientific as well as ethnographic value. A manuscript map of Davis Strait and the west side of Greenland, shows the route of the 1869 Bradford expedition in red.

Native American Images note : A bound folio of 92 albumen prints, from 16 x 21 cm. to 29 x 40 cm., are primarily landscapes of icebergs, glaciers, and rock formations. Thirty-five of the prints are ethnographic in nature of Inuit social life and customs, including dwellings, encampments, kayak, oomiak, and portraits in native attire. Images reflect settlements in Krakortok, Sermitsialik, and Upernavik along the west coast of Greenland in 1869. Referenced in the Supplement to a Guide to Manuscripts relating to the American Indian in the Library of the American Philosophical Society, with descriptive text in Dorr's journal and Hayes' work.

Physical description

1 volume.

Provenance

Presented by Hayes A. Dorr, 1973.

Related material

Hayes, I. I. (Isaac Israel), 1832-1881. The land of desolation: being a personal narrative of observation and adventure in Greenland (New York, 1872) Call no. 919.8 H32L

• Panther (Ship)

• Albumen prints
• Maps.

• Arctic regions -- Description and travel.
• Arctic regions -- Pictorial works.

• Bradford, William, 1823-1892
• Dorr, Dalton, 1846-1901
• Hayes, I. I (Isaac Israel), 1832-1881

• Arctic Indians
• Arctic Regions -- Discovery and exploration
• Inuit -- Greenland