Leon Legrain (1878-1963) was a French-born archaeologist and epigrapher who devoted his life to the study of Sumerian cuneiform and engraved seals. From 1920 until 1948 he was Curator of the Babylonian Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum. The collection consists of 6.8 linear feet of textual and graphic documentation, including Legrain's personal research as well as records of the Babylonian Section.
Leon Legrian was born June 16, 1878 in Landrecies, France. He studied at the Catholic University of Lille and received his doctorate in theology from the Collegium Appolinare in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1904. Legrain did graduate work at the School of Semitic Languages of the Catholic Institute of Paris, and studied ancient Near Eastern languages at the Sorbonne under the eminent Assyriologist Father Jean-Vincent Scheil. His dissertation "The Times of the Kings of Ur," won him the Brodin Prize in 1912. Legrain was appointed Professor of Assyriology and Ethiopian at the Catholic University of Paris. He assisted at the French expedition in Susa, Persia. During the First World War he served as an army interpreter with both the American and French divisions. In 1920 he was appointed Curator of the Babylonian Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, succeeding Stephen Langdon, who had resigned in 1918. A specialist in Sumerian cuneiform, Legrain was the University Museum's representative during the joint expedition with the British Museum at the excavation of Ur, Iraq in 1924-25 and 1925-26, where he served as epigrapher. Throughout his life he published extensively on cuneiform texts and engraved seals. His work on Sumerian cuneiform contributed to the later development of the Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary, begun in 1974 by Ake Sjoberg and Earl Leichty. As Curator of the Babylonian Section he was responsible for museum publications and exhibitions. He also supervised the division of objects from the Ur excavations with the British Museum. In 1926 Legrain received the honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Pennsylvania and in 1929 he was appointed Clark Professor of Assyriology. In 1937 he was awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor from the French government. Legrain served as Curator of the Babylonian Section until 1948, after which he officially retired, but remained active as Curator Emeritus. He was succeeded in the Babylonian Section by Samuel N. Kramer, Curator of Tablet Collections. Legrain died at Villa St. Joseph, Darby, Pennsylvania in 1963.
The Leon Legrain Near East Section records consist of 6.8 linear feet of textual and graphic materials that document the career and scholarship of Leon Legrain as Curator of the Babylonian Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum from 1920 to 1948. The collection also includes some of Legrain's research as early as 1907, as well as his activity as Curator Emeritus through 1951. Collection series include correspondence, biographical notes, Babylonian Section collection records, research notes, some publication material, photographs and drawings. Especially noteworthy are Legrain's research notes on Sumerian cuneiform and engraved seals. About 15% of the collection is in French or German.
See also Ur, Iraq Expedition records.
Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives,
Finding Aid Author:
Use Restrictions:
Geographic Name(s)
Iran -- Antiquities
Ur (extinct city)
Personal Name(s)
Gordon, G. B. (George Byron)
Woolley, C. Leonard, Sir
Legrain, Leon
Bache, Charles
Subject(s)
Iraq -- Antiquities
Cylinder seals
Cuneiform inscriptions, Sumerian
Collections Inventory
Correspondence (inclusive: 1919-1951)
Scope and Contents
The series contains general correspondence to and from Legrain, as well as communications with Babylonian Section Assistant Curator Charles Bache and General Assistant Dorothy Cross. Legrain correspondence is arranged by correspondent, sometimes by subject or institution, itemized under the folder titles. Although some letters date earlier, the bulk of the Legrain correspondence does not begin until 1926. Bache correspondence is arranged chronologically, Cross by correspondent. Additional correspondence can be found throughout the collection within specific topics.
General A-B, 1926-1946
box 1
General C-D, 1926-1938, 1951
box 1
Clark Research Professorship, 1929
box 1
General E-F, 1926-1944
box 1
Episcopalian Club of Massachusetts, 1934
box 1
General G, 1920-1943
box 1
Gordon, George Byron, 1920, 1924-1926
box 1
General H-J, 1924-1942
box 1
Jastrow Memorial Fund, 1922, 1930
box 1
Jayne, Horace, 1931-1933
box 1
General K-M, 1926-1947
box 1
MacCurdy, George Grant
box 1
McCown, C.C.
box 1
McHugh, Jane M., 1926-1928, 1933, 1936
box 1
General N-P, 1927-1942
box 1
General R-S, 1926-1943
box 1
General T-W, 1919, 1926-1943
box 1
Vaillant, George C., 1942-1943
box 1
Woolley, C. Leonard, 1925-1927, 1933-1936
box 1
Babylonian Section - Charles Bache, 1933-1941
box 1
Babylonian Section - Dorothy Cross A-D, 1934-1937
box 2
Babylonian Section - Dorothy Cross E-L, 1934-1937
box 2
Babylonian Section - Dorothy Cross M-W, 1934-1937
box 2
Registrar - Geraldine Bruckner, 1942
box 2
General A-B
Agre, Joseph/Aharan, Gregor
box 1
Alice
box 1
Bartlett, G. W.
box 1
Barton, George A.
box 1
Barnhart, Nancy
box 1
Beckman, Roy C.
box 1
Brummer Gallery
box 1
Byrne, Edward J. (w/ Banks, Edgar J.)
box 1
General C-D
Cadbury. W. W.
box 1
Cam__, Jean
box 1
Chadery, Edward
box 1
Charleston Museum loan
box 1
Clifford, Esther
box 1
Cooke, W.
box 1
Common Brick Mfrs. Assn. Philadelphia District
box 1
Contenau, G.
box 1
Coomarway, A. K.
box 1
Cowell, Louis H.
box 1
Craig, Donaldson
box 1
Cross/Crane, Josephine B.
box 1
Deimel, P.A.
box 1
Debevoise, Neilson C.
box 1
Delephine, G.
box 1
Dimand, M.S.
box 1
Dougherty, R.P./Grice, Ettalene, Yale University
box 1
Drioton, Etienne
box 1
Dueil
box 1
DuBarry, W.H.
box 1
General E-F
Elkins, Abel C.
box 1
Elliott, Huger
box 1
Emerson, Frances W.
box 1
Fanstone, A.B.
box 1
Field, Henry
box 1
Fish, T.
box 1
Fitzgibbon, Catherine S.
box 1
Frankfort, H.
box 1
Frazer, Charles H.
box 1
Freeman, A.
box 1
General G
Gadd, C.J.
box 1
Galpin, Francis W.
box 1
Gelb, Ignace J.
box 1
Godfrey, Marian Angel
box 1
Goetze, Albrecht
box 1
Goodman, A. Bayer
box 1
Goodrich, Herbert F.
box 1
Goodwin, Guy S.
box 1
Greene, Henry A.
box 1
Guitter, Maurice and G.
box 1
General H-J
Hall, H.R.
box 1
Hall, H.U.
box 1
Hall, Ardelia Ripley
box 1
Hansen, E.C.
box 1
Heffner, Edward H.
box 1
Hommel, Fritz
box 1
Hrozny, Friedrich
box 1
Hamased, Eban El Sheik Ibrahim
box 1
Indian Oriental Conference, Seventh
box 1
Ingen, Wilhelmine van
box 1
Ingholt, Hamed
box 1
Isaac, A.E.
box 1
Jackson, Dugald
box 1
Joshua, Joan
box 1
General K-M
Kellog, Frances Orborne
box 1
Keyes, N.B.
box 1
Kimball, Fiske
box 1
Kouchakji, Fahim
box 1
Kramer, Samuel N.
box 1
Landsberger, B.
box 1
Langdon, Stephen
box 1
Laty
box 1
Lied, J.
box 1
Lipmann, Charles B.
box 1
Lorant, Michael
box 1
Madeira, Percy
box 1
Malcolm, L.W.G.
box 1
Manchester, Herbert
box 1
Merlauge, Germaine
box 1
Messayeh, Alex D.
box 1
Mom__
box 1
Morana, A.
box 1
Movius, H.L.
box 1
Morgan, Ann H.
box 1
Mumford, Edward W.
box 1
Mureau-Danjin, F.
box 1
General N-P
Neugebauer, O.
box 1
Neumann, B.
box 1
Ormauz, Gray
box 1
Oppenheim, Mary
box 1
Osborn, Henry D.
box 1
Parker, Barbara
box 1
Place, Henri
box 1
Poebel, A.
box 1
Pope, Arthur Upham
box 1
Prentice, Sartell
box 1
Price, F.H.
box 1
General R-S
Radau, Hugo, Ph.D.
box 1
Ranke, Herman
box 1
Redpath Lyceum Bureau
box 1
Regeue, C.
box 1
Ripley, H. Ernestine Bulger
box 1
Robertson, Jesse Phillips
box 1
Rockwell, William Walker
box 1
Rohrlich, F.
box 1
Roseren, J.
box 1
Rostovtzeff, M.
box 1
Ryerson, Knowles A.
box 1
Sage, Robert L.P.
box 1
Samhiry, Ant. P.
box 1
Schaumberger, P. Johann
box 1
Sefall, Bertha
box 1
Shapley, John
box 1
Smith, A.J.
box 1
Smith, Sidney
box 1
Speiser, E.A.
box 1
Spofford, C.M.
box 1
Stephens, Ferris J.
box 1
Sutherland, Beth Benton
box 1
General T-W
Thureau-Daugin, F.
box 1
Tobler, Arthur J.
box 1
Treman, M.D.
box 1
Vinice, J.O.
box 1
Van Buren, G. Douglas
box 1
Vasclotz, Margaret de
box 1
Walker, Marian
box 1
Weidner, Ernst F., Ph.D.
box 1
Weinberger, Berdard Wolf, Ph.D.
box 1
Welsh, John F., Rev.
box 1
Westholm, Alfred
box 1
Wilson, John A.
box 1
Winlock, H.E.
box 1
Wright, John W.
box 1
Biographical Notes (inclusive: 1909-1964)
Scope and Contents
The biographical notes series contains two folders pertaining to Legrain's academic career and professional memberships. Additional resources concerning Legrain can be found in the Museum Archives' Biographical Collection. It should be noted that articles and news clippings in these collections may contain conflicting or contradictory information.
Legrain life and publications, 1937, 1964, undated
box 2
Legrain membership Deutsche Orient Gesellschaft, 1909
box 2
Collections (inclusive: 1907-1955)
Scope and Contents
The series contains documentation related to collections of the University Museum Babylonian Section, including gallery layout and inventory, as well as some files related to Persian/Islamic and South Arabian collections. By far the bulk of the series relates to objects and collections from the Babylonian expeditions, especially tablets and seals, including the Sallie Crozer Hilprecht Seal Collection.
The series contains research conducted by or collected by Legrain in reference to museum collections and topics, but not related to specific objects or University Museum collections. The bulk of the files relate to cuneiform vocabulary, especially Sumerian. Other files relate to ancient Mesopotamian chronology, geography, excavation sites, and sculpture. There are some brief files related to South Arabia. A file of publication notices contains Legrain's collection of publication lists and announcements of works by other scholars relating to Near Eastern archaeology (1907-1913).
Included in the research notes series is a collection of five index and note card files on various topics. Box 6 contains a collection of drawings of Mesopotamian objects and artistic motifs, with notes. Boxes 6 and 7 contain a series of cuneiform transliterations and translations by topic (rivers, gods, etc.). Boxes 8-10 hold a collection of note card files numbered 1 through 155 on various topics, mostly relating to Ur, followed by a descriptive object inventory (tablets, seals, sculpture, etc.). Major topics include notes on publications of fellow archaeologists (works dated mostly from 1904 to 1937, scattered throughout), notes related to reports from Ur (1927-1934, files 5-11), notes and drawings related to finds (seals, files 19-23; tablets, file 24, pottery, etc.), a chronological repertory of objects with drawings (file 52), notes in reference to other archaeological expeditions (scattered throughout), and brief references to Assyria, South Arabia, Persia, Luristan (file 46-47), and India. Also in this section are files properly belonging to the collections and publications series, including files related to collections of the University Museum (Ur terra cottas, file 18; South Arabian collections, file 93, etc.) and notes related to articles that appeared in (scattered throughout).
Chronologies - Uruk, Ur, et al.
box 3
Chronologies - Nippur, et al.
box 3
Chronologies - Essay on dating (Boyce), circa 1940
Notes on various Near Eastern sites and topics (1 of 2)
box 4
Notes on various Near Eastern sites and topics (2 of 2)
box 4
South Arabia notes, 1922, 1927
box 4
South Arabia publications, 1907-1909, 1931
box 4
South Arabia newspaper clippings, 1922, 1931
box 5
Hittite inscriptions and excavations - News clipping and publication notices (Hrozny)
box 5
Gudea sculpture, 1925-1931
box 5
Assyrian sculptures, 1914
box 5
Chariots and horses - drawings and notes
box 5
Gems and jewelry - watercolor drawings
box 5
Bismya (Sumerian Adab) - object illustrations
box 5
Notes to Hilprecht's "Explorations in Bible Lands..."
box 5
Publication notices A-K, 1907-1913
box 5
Publication notices L-W, 1907-1913
box 5
Art motif drawings [card file]
box 6
Cuneiform transliterations and translations [card file]
box 6-7
Research and collection notes [notecard file]
box 8-10
Publications (1925-1946, undated)
Scope and Contents
The publications series contains files related to works written or edited by Legrain and published by the University Museum. The publications of the Babylonian Section by Legrain that were produced in the 1920s are not well represented. The series includes brief planning documents and a preliminary collection of plates illustrating seals from (1925). Although mostly unattributed and undated, the majority of the files in this series appear to be drafts of articles or short notices written by Legrain and meant for publication in and .
Babylonian Section publication lists
box 5
Joint expedition at Ur - publication proposal
box 5
Draft articles included in the Catalogue of the Old Nippur Section folder, collections series, circa 1923
box 2
volume XIV, plates I-XLIX, 1925
box 5
volume XIV, plates L-LXIX, 1925
box 5
"From Iraq to Persia" (Schmidt), with Tepe Hissar report, circa 1931-1932
box 5
"Nippur Old Drugstore" v.8 n.1, Jan. 1940
box 5
"Horseback Riding in Mesopotamia" v.11 n.4, Apr. 1946
box 5
"The Babylonian Section"
box 5
Announcement of expeditions in the Holy Land and Mesopotamia - press release
box 5
"What We Know of the City of Ur"
box 5
"Expedition to Fara, the Ancient Sumerian City of Shurrupak"
box 5
"Announcing a Joint Persian Expedition"
box 5
"A Unique Collection...South Arabian Sculpture from the City of Saba"
box 5
Film-"Daily Life in Biblical Times" (n.d.)
box 5
Restoration of metal objects
box 5
Draft articles included in the Catalogue of the Old Nippur Section folder, collections series
"Seals and Seal Impressions in the Babylonian Collections" by Leon Legrain, 1923
box 2
"Old Sumerian Stone Reliefs and Vases at the Time of the Ist Ur Dynasty"
box 2
"The Royal Seal Cylinders of the First Dynasty of Babylon, Sumuabum and Zabum, BC 2050-1995"
box 2
"The Seal Cylinder of King Kurigalzu, about BC 1390"
box 2
"The Oldest Cassite Royal Seal, and the Cassite War God Shugamunu"
box 2
Leon Legrain Album (circa 1925-1926)
Scope and Contents
The Leon Legrain album is a collection of photographs and drawings (by Legrain) of excavation sites, ruins, and scenes of everyday life in the Near East, including many of participants in the expeditions. Individual photographs are not labeled or described, but drawings, mostly of excavation sites, are sometimes labeled and dated. The album is stored separately from the Leon Legrain collecton.
