George Gaylord Simpson and baboon, ca.1960

Approximately 4,600 folders of professional, administrative, and personal letters to and from Simpson. The professional correspondence represents several aspects of Simpson's career. First are his original contributions to technical knowledge in paleontology, geology, zoology, and taxonomy. Second are his involvements with professional organizations, the most prominent being the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, the Society for the Study of Evolution, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. Third are Simpson's comments and criticisms of his colleague's manuscripts, correspondence, and activities. Fourth are the informal and personal exchanges of news, activities, and gossip between more intimate associates. In the later portion of Simpson's career, correspondence with laypeople increased, and topics discussed include horses, penguins, cosmology, general paleontology, and creationism.

Administrative correspondence is less plentiful in this series. Information regarding the University of Arizona and the Simroe Foundation are lacking, and Simpson's activities in the American Museum of Natural History are almost entirely absent (although the Library of the American Museum of Natural History possesses related materials). However, Simpson's duties as the Agassiz Professor at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and the travel arrangements for Simpson's many trips and excursions, are well documented.

Intermingled with professional and administrative matters are personal comments and details concerning Simpson, his family, and his activities. Simpson occasionally reflected on his own motivations, ambitions, and history in his letters. Additionally, material in this series provides a panorama of personalities that Simpson comments on; from unrestrained frankness to diplomatic courtesy, and from warm humor to perturbed spite.

Many items deserve note in this series. Most prominent are the detailed letters between Simpson and his major publishers, including Columbia University Press, Yale University Press, and Harcourt, Brace, and World. These exchanges document the process of publication. Correspondence of this type is filed under the name of the publisher. However, in some cases Simpson kept files under the last name of particular editors. Users of this collection should be sure to check both headings when searching in the correspondence.

In addition, correspondence with collaborators on Life: An Introduction to Biology is especially extensive and rich in detail. As are Simpson's connection with South American paleontologists and geologists, which is demonstrated by the voluminous correspondence with Latin American scientists. Also of note are a group of letters between George and Anne Roe Simpson entitled "Observations during a war," written during Simpson's World War II military service in Europe.

The material in this series does not represent the complete corpus of known correspondence from Simpson. Administrative activities are documented in manuscripts deposited with the American Museum of Natural History and Harvard University. Field notes and papers relating to Simpson's expeditions are housed at the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Vertebrate Paleontology. The extensive library kept by the Simpsons was dispersed upon his death. Books relating to anthropology, near and far east languages, and genetics were donated to the University of Arizona. The bulk of his collection, which included his entire reprint collection, was donated to the Florida State Museum (Gainesville), under the supervision of Dr. David Webb.

In addition to the materials contained in this collection, the American Philosophical Society also holds a collection of (B/si 5) letters by Simpson to Martha Lee Simpson Eastlake (1918-1962, 261 items), which recount his travels and experiences on scientific expeditions to New Mexico, Arizona, Argentina, and Chile. Finally, Simpson often told colleagues that many portions of his earlier correspondence, particularly those written during his tenure at the American Museum of Natural History, met various ends, including loss, disposal, and theft.

This series is arranged alphabetically by the correspondents' last name or corporate name. There is one folder containing letters that were not identified and it is filed under "Unidentified Correspondents." When searching in this series it is advisable to do as much cross-reference searching as possible, including personal name and corporate affiliation. (Please see the accompanying finding aid to the Simpson correspondence.)

Manuscripts, typed carbons, and reprints of published books and articles by Simpson. They are arranged alphabetically by title. (A copy of Simpson's bibliography may be found in Series IX.) Of special note in this series is the manuscript version of Simpson's autobiography, Concession to the Improbable. Many of these works are partial manuscripts or sections of a work, such as the introduction, preface, or index. Book reviews of Simpson's publications are filed in this series under the title of the work. Illustrations from published works may be found in Series IV Research Notes, filed under the title of the publication and/or subject of the work. (See the folder listing on page 8.)

Simpson's unpublished writings, arranged alphabetically by title. This series also includes transcripts of lectures given by Simpson to groups outside of his academic classrooms. (For lecture notes see Series V; for class notes see Series VI). Of note in this series is a typed carbon copy of George and Anne Roe Simpson's mystery novel, "Trouble in the Tropics," written during 1938-1939 while on expedition in Venezuela. (See the folder listing on page 12.)

Transparencies, manuscript notes, drawings, illustrations, and photographs that Simpson assembled during his work on a given subject or book. Also included in this series are research notes taken while Simpson was on expedition, including Alto Jurua, San Juan Basin, and Patagonia. Research notes on selected subjects that pertain specifically to work in Patagonia have been labeled as such, i.e. (Patagonia), to distinguish them from other field location work. Most of the subject headings employed were taken from Simpson's own file folder labels. Many folders also contain associated articles and materials by other authors that pertained to Simpson's work. Photographs in this series can be distinguished from those in Series XI in that these photos relate to specimens and diagrams as opposed to individuals, events, and expeditions. Also of note are the illustrations found in this series, which include sketches, figures, tables, and photos of specimens. (See the folder listing on page 17.)

Outlines of lectures given by Simpson to groups other than his academic classes. They are arranged alphabetically by title or subject. Exceptions to this are groups of lectures, which are filed under the name of the lecture series. These include the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia Lectures (1948-1951), the Condon Lectures (1953), the Hitchcock Lectures (1949), the Prather Lectures (1947), the Terry Lectures (1948), and the Wagner Free Institute of Science Lectures (1950). Also included in this series are Simpson's radio addresses which are filed under Radio Scripts. See Series XI for slides that Simpson may have used in these lectures. (See folder listing on page 22.)

Notes on classes taken by Simpson as a university student (1921-1924), and notes on classes given by Simpson as a university professor (1947-1981). Also included in this series is a small bound volume which contains listings of many of the courses Simpson taught at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the University of Arizona, and includes students names, grades, and comments. These notes are arranged alphabetically by department name and number of the course. Of note in this series are the notes taken by Simpson, which include colored sketches of the vertebrates he studied. (See folder listing on page 26.)

Papers submitted from students to Simpson in the course of their study at Harvard University. These papers are arranged alphabetically by author's last name. (See folder listing on page 28.)

Typed carbon copies of journals written by the Simpsons on their numerous trips, and are arranged alphabetically by place name. This series does not include field notes from expeditions. (See Series IV for field notes.) Of note in this series is Anne Roe Simpson's "Note on travel diaries," which describes the journals. (See folder listing on page 33.)

Miscellaneous papers and documents pertaining to Simpson's life and work. Most of these materials were written by Simpson. Of note in this series are Simpson's autobiographical notes, which cover events and thoughts on his life not found elsewhere, and his remarks on research and publications, which details the progression of his work. (See folder listing on page 35.)

Certificates, plaques, and medals pertaining to Simpson's honorary degrees, memberships, fellowships, and awards. These materials are broken down by form. Box A contains encased certificates; Box B contains plaques and oversized certificates; and Box C contains certificates and papers in file folders. (See folder listing on page 36.)

Slides, negatives, rolls of film, lantern slides, and photos pertaining chiefly to Simpson, his family, and his early expeditions. This series contains approximately 1,500 slides covering a variety of subjects, from flowers to rodeos to expedition sites to the Simpson's New Mexico home, Los Pinavetes. Photographs concerning expeditions and travel include Venezuela (1,060 photos), Patagonia (240 photos), Brazil (70 photos), New Mexico (110 photos), Florida (30 photos), and China and Japan (11 photos).

Of special note in this series are the 1,060 photos of Simpson's 1938-1939 trip to Venezuela. Also included are five indexes (bound volumes) to Simpson's Patagonia and Venezuela photos, and five rough books containing notes and sketches, also taken while in Patagonia and Venezuela. Finally, many of the lantern slides in this collection appear to be associated with Simpson's lecture presentations.

Financial records, research proposals, Venezuelan materials, Simpson's notes on the Arabic language, American Museum of Natural History materials, and newspaper clippings. (See folder listing on page 39.)

Compiled by Joe Cain (J.Cain@ucl.ac.uk), 04/22/99

Unprocessed collection, literal folder titles only. No content descriptions

The bulk of the Simpson-Eastlake Collection is comprised of personal correspondence written by George Gaylord Simpson to his sister, Martha Lee Simpson Eastlake, and to his parents Joseph Alexander Simpson and Julia Kinney Simpson. In addition to providing some details on Simpson's personal life, the letters include sporadic information on his scientific expeditions, particularly those to South American during the 1930s.

The collection has been enhanced with the addition of some autobiographical essays by Simpson written in 1933, 1954, and the 1970s, and an extensive typescript rumination by Simpson on his research and publications.