Van Deman Notes, 1907 - 1929

Collection

Identifier: PA.AAR.VD.N.

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection is composed of notes taken by Esther Van Deman during all her archaeological surveys and travel excavations in the Roman Forum between 1907 and 1929. It is a rare example of both a personal and a professional archive.

Dates

1907-1929

Creator

Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937 (Person)

Language of Materials

English

Biographical / Historical

Esther Van Deman was born on October 1, 1862 in South Salem, Ohio, to Joseph Van Deman and Martha Millspaugh. She obtained a B.A. in 1891 from at the College of Emporia, Kansas, and a M.A. in 1892 from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After teaching Latin at Wellesley College and the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Maryland, Van Deman received a Ph.D. in 1898 from the University of Chicago. From 1898 until 1901, she taught Latin at Mount Holyoke College, after which she came to Rome to study Roman construction techniques at the American School of Classical Studies. Here she taught herself the art of photography, and met fellow photographer Thomas Ashby, a British archaeologist. The two undertook the study of Roman aqueducts together. In 1903, Van Deman became an Associate Professor of Latin and Classical Archaeology at Goucher College and taught there for three years. From 1906 to 1910, she lived in Rome as a Carnegie Institution Fellow; from 1910 to 1925, she was an associate of the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C. Van Deman then taught Roman archaeology at the University of Michigan, and stayed there for five years. In 1936, she received a Honorary Doctorate from the University of Michigan. Van Deman died in Rome on May 3, 1937 and was buried in the Protestant Cemetery near Porta Ostiense.

Extent

4 Boxes (ca. 15,000 Text) : 3 linear feet : ; 10 x 15 cm.

49 Paper Card (Handwritten in pen ;) : postcards, black and white : ; 10 x 15 cm.

8 Newspaper Clipping(s)

2 Notebooks (Handwritten in pen ;) : Hardback, in black cloth case : ; 10 x 15 cm and 12 x 19 cm.

2 Photographic Materials : Black and white : ; 10 x 15 cm.

Additional Description

Abstract

Esther Van Deman's work focuses on building materials, working to establish a chronology of construction for the ancient sites. In 1907, while attending a lecture in the Atrium Vestae in Rome, Van Deman noticed that the bricks blocking up a doorway differed from those of the structure itself. Such differences in building materials provided a key to discovering the chronology of ancient structures. Van Deman's basic methodology, with few modifications, became the standard procedure in Roman archaeology. The Carnegie Institution published her preliminary findings in The Atrium Vestae in 1909. Van Deman then expanded her research to other types of concrete and brick construction, and in 1912 she published "Methods of Determining the date of Roman Concrete Monuments" in The American Journal of Archaeology. Her major work, written after she retired and settled in Rome, was "The Building of the Roman Aqueducts" (1934). At the time of her death, Van Deman was at work on a monograph-length study of Roman construction. Her work was completed and published as "Ancient Roman construction in Italy from the Prehistoric Period to Augustus". A chronological study based on the material was accumulated by Esther Boise Van Deman (1947) and by Marion Elizabeth Blake (1882-1961). Sources: "Van Deman, Esther Boise" Notable American Women, Vol. 3, 4th ed., The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1975

Arrangement

The paper notes have been stored in polyester envelopes. Each envelope may contain from 3 to 10 single paper notes. Envelopes, once numbered, have been organized and filed vertically into archival boxes. Each box contains ca. 1,500 to 2000 single notes . The 4 boxes containing the paper notes are shelved in the climate-controlled consultation room of the Photographic Archive.

Related Materials

Notes are striclty related to the rich collection of photographs created by Esther Van Deman: - 5041 gelatin prints (vintage prints) - 2727 cellulose nitrate films - 2727 modern duplicates (polyester films)

Bibliography

The Sullan Forum / Esther Boise Van Deman. by Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher: [London] : Society for the promotion of Roman studies,1922
The Atrium Vestae / Esther Boise Van Deman. by Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher: Washington : Carnegie Institution,1909
The house of Caligula [by] Esther Boise Van Deman. by Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher: [Place of publication not identified],[1924.]
The sacra via of Nero / Esther Boise Van Deman. by Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher: [Place of publication not identified]:American Journal of Archaeology],1923]
The Neronian sacra via / Esther Boise Van Deman. by Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher:[Place of publication not identified]:American Journal of Archaeology,1923
The building of the Roman aqueducts / by Esther Boise Van Deman. by Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher:[Washington, D.C.]:Carnegie Institution of Washington,1934
Methods of determining the date of Roman concrete monuments / Esther Boise Van Deman. by Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher:[Place of publication not identified]:Archaeological Institute of America,1912
Ancient Roman construction in Italy from the prehistoric period to Augustus : a chronological study based in part upon the material accumulated by the late dr. Esther Boise van Deman / Marion Elizabeth Blake. by Blake, Marion Elizabeth, 1892-1961 | Carnegie Institution of Washington | Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher:Washington, D.C.:Carnegie Institution,1947
The porticus of Gaius and Lucius / Esther Boise Van Deman. by Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher:[Place of publication not identified]:Archaeological Institute of America,1913
Brick-faced concrete monuments : Summary of Amer. Journal Arch. XVI(1912) / E.B. Van Deman. by Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher:[Place of publication not identified]:[1912?]
The value of the Vestal statues as originals. by Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher: [New York], [1908]
Esther B. Van Deman : immagini dall'archivio di un'archeologa americana in Italia all'inizio del secolo = images from the archive of an American archaeologist in Italy at the turn of the century / a cura di = edited by Karen Einaudi ; con contributi di = with contributions by Katherine A. Geffcken. Publisher: Roma : American Academy in Rome, 1991
Notes on a few vestal inscriptions. by Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher: [Place of publication not identified], 1908
Ancient coins bequeathed by Esther Boise Van Deman to the American academy in Rome. by Snyder, Walter F. Publisher: Rome : Academy in Rome, 1938
Vases bequethed by Esther Boise Van Deman to the American Academy in Rome. by Avery, William T. (William Tecumsah), 1819-1880 | Blank, Frances | Starr, Chester G, 1914-1999 | American Academy in Rome | Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937. Publisher: Rome : American Academy in Rome, 1940
Esther Boise Van Deman, uno sguardo straniero: paesaggio italiano nelle fotografie di un'archeologa americana / di Daniela Cavallo. by Cavallo, Daniela | Università degli studi Roma tre. Facoltà di architettura | American Academy in Rome. Publisher: [Rome] : Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Dipartimento di Architettura, [2016]
A view of one's own : three women photographers in Rome ; Esther Boise Van Deman, Georgina Masson, Jeannette Montgomery Barron. by Piga, Angela | American Academy in Rome | Miller, Peter Benson | Harris, Lindsay R. Publisher: Roma : American Academy in Rome, 2016
Notes on a few vestal inscriptions. By: Van Deman, Esther Boise, 1862-1937 Search in URBiS.
Fotografia archeologica, 1865-1914 / a cura di Karin Bull-Simonsen Einaudi. By: Unione internazionale presso l'Accademia Americana in Roma. FototecaSearch in URBiS. Contributor(s): American Academy in Rome | Fototeca dell'Unione Internazionale degli Istituti di Archeologia, Storia e Storia dell'arte in Roma presso Accademia Americana in Roma | Bull-Simonsen Einaudi, Karin. Publisher: Roma : De Luca, [1978]