Zelia Nuttall papers

In 1896 the University of Pennsylvania Museum sponsored its first expedition to Russia. The Museum sent Zelia Nuttall (now remembered mainly for her work in the area of Mexican studies) as its representative on a trip planned by Dr. William Pepper, President of the Museum, and underwritten by Mrs. Phoebe Apperson Hearst. The purposes of the expedition were to establish cordial relations and a system of exchanges and cooperation, and to obtain archaeological and ethnological specimens by gift or exchange. Nuttall traveled to Moscow, Kiev, Troitzkoi, Rostov, Nijni-Novgorod, and Riga. She also attended ceremonies for the coronation of Nicholas II and there acquired commemorative prints which she donated to the Museum and to Mrs. Hearst. Nuttall succeeded in obtaining for the University of Pennsylvania Museum a number of publications and artifacts, along with examples of native Russian costumes.

Zelia Nuttall was born in San Francisco in 1857 and educated in France, Germany, Italy and Bedford College, London. She specialized in pre-Columbian and Mesoamerican manuscripts and the pre-Aztec culture in Mexico. she came to prominence in 1886 with the publication of "Terra Cotta Heads of Teotihuacan" in the American Journal of Archaeology.

Nuttall was named an honorary special assistant to the Peabody Museum in 1887 and in 1908 named honorary professor of the National Museum of Mexico.

The collection consists mainly of correspondence from Nuttall to William Pepper and Sara Yorke Stevenson, inventories of objects acquired, and images collected at the Pan-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition at Nijni-Novgorod (modern Gorki).

Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives,

Finding Aid Author:

Use Restrictions: Although many items from the archives are in the public domain, copyright may be retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. The user is fully responsible for compliance with relevant copyright law.

Typed copies of some of the correspondence between Nuttall and Hearst are at the Bentley Library, University of California at Berkeley.

Form(s)/Genre(s)

• Photographic prints
• Correspondence

Personal Name(s)

• Nuttall, Zelia
• Pepper, William
• Stevenson, Sara Yorke
• Hearst, Phoebe Apperson

Subject(s)

• Coronations -- Collectibles

The card catalogue in the registrar's office contains the following inventory numbers of items from what was known as the Nuttall Expedition to Russia:

19569-19597; EU 11-89; A 1731-1811; 13851-13937, 19485-19520, 19582-19583, 19584-19597, 19598-19599, 19600-19607, 19608, 19609-19681, 19682, 19683.

The standard size records (all documents, photographic prints, and drawings up to 11x17 inches) in this collection have been digitized and may be accessed via this finding aid. Each folder has been scanned as a multi-page PDF; the contents presented in the original order. The PDFs have been labeled with the collection number (PU-Mu. 1056), the box number, and the folder number (i.e. PUMu1056_01_01-001). Oversize plans and drawings, as well as photographic negatives, have not been scanned.

If you wish to publish an image, please contact archives@pennmuseum.org to obtain a publication-quality scan produced by the Penn Museum Photo Studio.

As a historical resource, some items within this collection may include language and imagery which is offensive, oppressive and may cause upset. The use of this language and imagery is not condoned by the Penn Museum, but we are committed to providing equal and open access to this material as well as preservation of the original context of the material. We recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so that we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact archives@pennmuseum.org with any questions or concerns.