Jameson Collection of Chinese and East Asian Folklore

Raymond Deloy Jameson (1895-1959)

Raymond Deloy Jameson was born in Kingston, Tennessee on August 15, 1895. After his father's early death, Raymond's formative years were influenced by his mother's scholarly pursuits, who earned a Ph.D. in German at the University of Wisconsin. This academic environment shaped Raymond's intellectual curiosity. Raymond completed his B.A. at the University of Wisconsin around 1915, where he met and married Rose Perel Jameson. He pursued an M.A. at the University of Chicago, beginning his early teaching career at various institutions. His notable works during this period focus on western literature, such as "The Trails of the Troubadours" and "A Short History of Western Literature." In 1925, Raymond was appointed to the Department of Western Literature at National Tsing Hua University in Beijing, China. Raymond's academic career in China was robust; he published significant works on literature and folklore, including "Three Lectures on Chinese Folklore." His interests spanned beyond Western literature to include Chinese culture and folklore. He was known for his broad intellectual pursuits, including contributions to "The Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend." Raymond also had a notable interest in the sexual aspects of literature and folklore and worked on Chinese-English translations of texts related to these subjects, though not all were published. After divorcing Rose in 1935, Raymond married Dorothy Work Kemp. Raymond left China in 1938, after the Japanese invasion of north China, and started a new career at the Library of Congress and the American Red Cross. He eventually taught at New Mexico Highlands University until his death in 1959.

Rose Perel Jameson (1890-1969)

Rose Perel Jameson was born on July 23, 1890, in Menominee, Wisconsin. She received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, majoring in English. Rose's literary contributions included publishing stories in the Wisconsin Literary Magazine and an anthology of contemporary British and American poets. Her life was marked by significant moves due to her husband's career, from the U.S. to China, and later to England and back to the U.S. In China, she taught at the Peiping National Normal University, as well as privately. After her divorce in 1935, Rose continued her teaching career in the U.S., involving herself in various educational roles, including teaching English to foreigners at Columbia University. She did not read Chinese characters but had a keen interest in traditional medicine and folklore, which is evident in her collection of folklife materials. Rose Jameson's wide interests and curiosity, along with her many contacts with scholars and writers, enriched her collections, making them valuable beyond the scope of amateur interest. Both Rose and Raymond Jameson's collections, amassed during their tenure in Beijing, reflect a deep engagement with local cultures and folklore traditions. Their collection, now housed at the University of Pennsylvania, provides a unique perspective on early 20th-century Chinese and East Asian folklore.

The Jameson Collection of East Asian Folklore was donated to the University of Pennsylvania Folklore Archives by Michael Jameson in 1976. Shortly afterwards, the collection was loaned to Maxine Miska for research and exhibition. The Penn Folklore Archives were transferred to the Penn Museum Archives in 2010. In 2023, Miska returned the collection to Penn.

The collection consists of folktales, primarily from China, but also from Mongolia and Tibet, and the analysis of same by Raymond and Rose Jameson, who lived in Beijing from 1925 to 1938. Rose Jamison also collected many color woodblock prints on rice paper, ephemeral paper gods used by the Chinese for all kinds of blessings, prayers, and protection from spirits.

The collection is divided into four series. The first series, Collection Information, includes Michael Jameson's description of the collection, two original scrapbook labels, and the catalogue of the exhibition "Door Gods & Other Household Deities," held at the Asian Arts Institute, New York, 1984, that included prints from the Jameson Collection.

Raymond Jameson's writings and notes on East Asian folklore are the second series, followed by the third series, Rose Jameson's writing and notes on Chinese folklore. These two series were originally bound separately in scrapbooks, which were tattered. The topical arrangement has been maintained.

The fourth series are the color woodblock prints, as well as a portfolio of other types of paper gods, and an empty portfolio cover. The woodblock prints are not identified. They are arranged in small groups, by size, and are stored separately in flat files.

A set of publications by Henri Doré (1911-1938) came with the Jameson collection. The Folklore Department Library was dispersed in 2012 and the Penn Libraries already house copies of these books. These publications were not retained.

Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives,

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